^#544 ^Lot 571 Samuel L. Clemens

ALS signed “S. L. Clemens,” one page, 5.25 x 7.5, June 23, 1889. From Hartford, Clemens writes to an unidentified gentleman. In full: “It is all right. It was all the better to leave off the quotation-marks, because if you had coupled my name with the story it would have injured me in England, where they believe everything I say.” Beautifully double cloth matted and framed with a portrait of Clemens and a biographical plaque, to an overall size of 26 x 25. In fine condition, with two horizontal mailing folds and a trivial vertical tear to one of the folds.

Clemens’ wry remark about the people of England may not have implied gullibility as much as adoration. When he wrote this letter, he had visited England twice already, in 1872 and 1873-74. On the latter trip he spent four months living in London and touring the country. During the journey, he found himself the favorite of notables, entertaining everyone from cabinet members to the literary lights of his era; not since Benjamin Franklin had an American enjoyed such adulation in Europe. In 1889, Clemens certainly had England on his mind: he published A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court that year. Despite his sarcastic comment, England’s affection for Mark Twain was reciprocated. He once wrote to his wife, “I would rather live in England than America--which is treason.” A wonderful letter capturing Clemens’ inimitable wit. Oversized.