Mark Twain: April Fool, 1884
Edited by Leslie Myrick and Christopher Ohge
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Ellen D. Stedman to
Samuel L. Clemens
31 March 1884 • New York, N.Y.
(MS: CU-MARK, UCLC 41995)
Let me hear from thee by letters
•Shakespeare•
April 1st, 1884.
Mr. Samuel L. Clemens,Dear Sir,
Having long known and admired you through your writings, and having once had the pleasure of passing a very enjoyable evening
with you at my Father's—Mr Stedman's, I trust you will not think I am asking too great a favor, when I express my desire to possess your autograph.
If it would not View Page
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Hoping you might be able to grant my request, believe me, with much respect and admiration,
Very sincerely yours,
Ellen Douglas Stedman.
Please address Mrs F. S. Stedman[1] 48 West 27th St. New York City
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To Samuel L. Clemens Esq | Hartford | Connecticutt. [postmarked:] new york mar 31 10 30 ♢m e 84 [docketed by SLC, in pencil:] Miss Stedman
Explanatory Notes
Textual Commentary
▮ Copy-text: MS, Mark Twain Papers, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (CU-MARK).
Persons Mentioned
Ellen Montague Douglas Stedman (1856–1931)
Ellen D. Stedman was the wife of recently embroiled broker Frederick Stuart Stedman, the son of poet Edmund Clarence Stedman. She and her daughter, Laura, were Edmund Clarence Stedman's mainstays in his old age.