New-York tribune., 1906-04-03
FOR TWAIN LETTER. S43
NAST SALE BEGINS.
Boon 6y Humorist Brings 81 ,225-
Blame and Grant Papers Sold.


A Mark Twain autograph letter brought an ex-
doloinaTy price at the opening of the sale of the
library correspondence and original cartoons of the
Iale 4hornas Mast, at the of the Merwin-
clayton Sales Company Yesterday afternoon
lIlena OF the Mast family whose name was not
elFen' paid $4S for letter OF the humorist to Mr.
Mast proposing a joint lecture The highest
price paid for any of several autograph letters Of
General Grant SIS
hltherto Mark Twains autograph letters have
nor nor brought more than So or S. The same man paid
30 and s27 respectively other Twain letters
- iourth was sold to another buyer for s2s. In
inns Mark Twain said:
DO hope the publishers can make IL nav ,o,,
Illustrate - iliustrate my book, then I should have good
- uAes-theyve got TO improve Roushing It
"o autograph letters by Grover Cleveland from
ie "hite House sold for IS 50 and 81 respectively.
an autograph letter from James C. Blaine
20 's' . 90 II is supposed to refer to the charges
=, , MI Blaine that there had been Democratic
e'e'u0n frauds in Maine in 1879. 1t follows:
Nv Dear nv WaSShington. S3s D; G. January 81 1880.
@ victim as you ever caricatured for the entertain
he totn1 tie PIonci but of course do not like TO
importsnEE , Snu lnexcusably misrepresented on an
the hdHag a spent fD recently anxious days and nights
fronnies ft without violence and the slightest in
painting me an Indian with war Club. anxious
of CepAra ana only prevented by the interposition
ost Would m be glad matter of mere personal curl
us You in thus presenting e @ or IF efrSay Ss sReT eRer
or E11 hIIWn for any public act policy it
have always had strong Belief in your sense Of
meat sd @ justice. and leave you to do what
yours " SOui eyes 'srE fe 1saAnTeSSTEely
The s45 Mark Twain letter. under date of Hart
1orda November r. 1877 says:
! did not think should ever stand on a platform
die innocent" But the same old offers keen arrtv
for Eo9isve $500 sna for Osf ST. toei eoe
the rcep m n5tS @ IN 9o Torqnt9 s3 and
eoTei nave declined them all Just usual-though
now do not decline because mind talking to
bast uTIsnce; oGt because % travelling alone is
Whole show is such a cheer killing responsibiIty
- ere i now propose TO what you proposed
I6 en6Kn0wnl-yiz 1 that YOU stand on the platform
d I9 maze axe pictures, and stand by and black
iti snodla enormously enjoy meandering around big
company. '-' ''O -''
,,iEGeums on the spos. but put ali the ducats
igioHIsy into Two equal piles and say to the artist
OF instance this being the plan pay the lecture
be eau ~ per cent OF the gross receipts to engage
agent with us TO tend door and arrange all details
Perform at 81 a ticket and only in towns capable
Of furnishing $500 to $500 audiences Have 90
cent or 5-cent admissions also in halls and theatres
where there are galleries # considered expedient
priyiIs ake n aal IN New York for two weeks with
from there elsewhere and come back and finish
Beg Begin ~ February and perform hundred times
aifrd half the profit from $4,000 to $4,000 ry to make
to reduce them We could @ get get $500 apiece @ fSP" for
Steinway week with no trouble at all.
iSsIgrf6 f6 Two nights IN stenway Hall once for
bofh bon nighs , at I'd, dollar 3 head The rent Of The
%95ns % tn dn little uc OR nShn % because there was not
pack that hall six nights and two matinees and
o946e T that tim time IN - e smaller male hall.
and one matinee or a week in a smaller hall.
Mark Twain then gives a proposed itinerary of
twenty-four cities for total of seventy-fve lee
Jures. He adds:
cut a2ge anG a69 S BY g or else could easily Po
New England along the route.
You and can cram any house IN America full
as 1t can hold did not put IN Philadelphia, be
cause Pugh owns that town, and last winter when
I made little reading trip he only paid $500.
in the midst of concerO cost him a vast sum
and SO he he couldn't afford % any more could get
I am deep in a book which can have ready for
project 'i7
1 have imagined two or three pictures and con-
cocted the accompanying remarks to see how the
'Rs We "Sod SoI think 6 over w4s Sas and drop me
] not proposing a novelty in business In Cal
oof all the TsE myself ad Ee Mho
profit Ny agent got nothing but salary. |
some fun,
Mark Twain also scored the highest price in the
sale Of books. presentation copy from the au-
thor with autographic inscription to Thomas Mast
Of the first edition of 'Roughng IT. brought s2 %.
This afternoon at 8 o'clock the sale of autograph
letters will be continued. There is catalogued
under "McCUrdy Orchard A.. Insurance magnate
and poet" autograph poem signed "A Day After
the Fair 1t seems that Mr. McCurdy got up a
hunt for his friends Election Day. Mast did
not accept the invitation but sent some humorous us
acknowledgment of the sketches. 1t is written on
note paper. made in Paris, in green ink. At the
head Of the paper is engraving of Dover Ridge.
the McCurdy estate at Morris Plains lot of or
ginaI drawings and cartoons by Mr.. Mast and some
scra rapbooks, music and photographs will also be
sold