SAMUEL L. CLEMENS * PSA * MARK TWAIN Autograph Letter Signed Mourning His Wife
Guaranteed Authentic
TWAIN LAMENTS THE HORSE & TROLLEY ACCIDENT OF DAUGHTER JEAN & INCAPACITATION OF DAUGHTER CLARA OVER THE DEATH OF HER MOTHER, OLIVIA – ALL WHILE DEALING WITH THE TROUBLESOME LEASING OF A PROPERTY FROM AN IRRATIONAL ITALIAN COUNTESS!
Legendary American writer and humorist SAMUEL L. CLEMENS lengthy authentic handwritten autograph letter on black bordered mourning stationery dated September 22, 1904 from New York to Senator Odoardo Luchino, an Italian senator of the Kingdom of Italy. Signed at conclusion as, "SL Clemens".
Clemens laments his daughter, Jean "...who [was] run down by a trolley car" and was badly hurt "+ a heavy surgeon's bill" – and daughter Clara who was confined to a rest-cure home "...whose nerves [were] shattered by the shock of her mother's death." Twain's wife Olivia had died earlier that year from heart failure, in June 1904, while staying at their rented Italian villa where her doctors had suggested she move for the moderate climate.
An uncharacteristically somber Clemens laments:
"New York, Sept. 22/04
(21 Fifth avenue)
Dear Senator Luchino,
Your kind letter of the 5th has just reached me from Lee, Mass., where Jean + ate + Mis Lyon are occupying the cottage in the hills. Clara is in a rest-cure home in a village in Connecticut where she sees no one but the nurse + the doctor + neither writes letters nor reads them; I am kept constantly in New York by business. The house (21 Fifth avenue) will not break ready for a month yet but there in no hurry; Jean prefers the country + Clara must continue the rest-cure several months. Her nerves were shattered by the shock of her mother's death.
I approve all you are doing in the matter of the Countess. The arbitration is best. If the Count had returned a year ago there would probably have been a sane lease + never any trouble.
I am very sorry Mr. Traverso has had an accident, + I hope he is well again by this time.
Jean had one, but is well again. She + her horse were run down by a trolley car. Result: horse killed, Jean badly hurt + a heavy surgeon's bill.
Miss Lyon had an operation on her eye + expects to need another one.
With my kindest regards to you + to your family, I am
Sincerely Yours,
SL Clemens
Please telephone my kindest regards to Mr. Cecchi, And my thanks to for all the good services he is doing for us."
"Katy" Leary served as the maid/companion of the Twain daughters, and was a trusted, beloved aide of the Clemens family. Isabel Lyon ["Miss Lyon] was Twain's personal secretary for most of his final years – until he fired her for embezzling and a string of other miscellaneous charges. Twain was not so kind in his description of his increasingly disagreeable Italian villa's landlady, the "infernal" Countess Massiglia, calling her "the lowest-down woman on the planet" and the "...b*tch who owns this Villa".
CERTIFIED AUTHENTIC BY PSA/DNA EXPERT EXAMINATION, and encapsulated using PSA/DNA's proprietary sonically-sealed technology. UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED GENUINE. An investment-quality acquisition for any exceptional literary or autograph collection.
Twain was widely celebrated as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced", with author William Faulkner calling him "the father of American Literature". Twain's novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, with the latter often called, "the great American novel."
In fine condition, as shown, with expected mailing folds, light toning associated with age, use and handling. Letter measures appx. 7" x 9" as displayed open inside 10" x 13" encapsulate.
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Own a remarkable, museum-grade piece of American Literary history! The perfect gift for the library, book collector, Twain fan, autograph enthusiast, or avid reader.
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