285
●
TWAIN, MARK. Autograph Manuscript, unsigned, draft of his brief article for
Harper’s Weekly
, published with the title, “A Capable Humorist,” in the February 20, 1909
issue. 2
3
/
4
pages, 8vo, written on one side of each sheet; faint even toning, horizontal fold;
matted and framed with portrait and clipping of the printed article.
Np, [December 1908]
[4,000/6,000]
Twain’s article consists of an introduction to a transcription of a letter to him from a Dutch
humorist in broken English: “The mails bring me many interesting letters, & now and then a
remarkable one. I save the remarkable ones, & shall by & by distribute them through my
Autobiography . . . . I have now received a remarkable one from Holland which I want to share
with the public at once . . . . It is from a born humorist, & his humor is so natural to him that
not even the stubborn plate-mail of his book-acquired English is able to keep it in; it breaks its
way out, & flashes through the cracks. . . .”
There are a few minor differences from the published version, e.g., “cracks” is rendered in print
as “chinks.”
INTRODUCTION FOR HARPER’S