ALS signed “S. L. Clemens,” one page, 5.5 x 7, April 21, 1886. Letter to an unidentified woman. In full: “Thank you very much for the circular. What a pity poor Josh Billings is dead. He always wanted an office, & now he has lost the chance of being President of that Society.” Attractively double suede matted and framed, with a portrait of Clemens, a portrait of Billings, and a descriptive plaque, to an overall size of 18.75 x 17.5. In fine condition, with scattered toning (perhaps from adhesive on reverse), a bit heavier to each corner, none affecting the crisp signature.
Josh Billings was the pen name of humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw, who died in 1885. He was considered the second most famous humor writer and lecturer in the United States during the mid- to late-1800s—right after Mark Twain. Both writers helped America heal from the scars of the Civil War. Many northerners laughed at Billings’ witty and satirical works, while Clemens was busy honing his craft and heading toward writing prominence with the 1865 publication of ‘The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.’ Clemens penned this letter while he was in the midst of writing A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, published in 1889.
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