ALS signed “Mark Twain,” one page, 5 x 8, black-bordered Riverdale on the Hudson letterhead, August 14, 1902. Letter to Elisabeth Brachman in Norway. In full: “Don’t let (Chatto & Windus publishers, London), find you out & there’ll not be the least harm done! But if they complain, tell them I authorized you, & they must do as the new negro song says: ‘Go ‘way back an’ set down!’ (I gave them entire authority over all translations 25 years ago, but that was only to put work on their shoulders & relieve my own.) Thanking you for your kind words & wishing you prosperity & happiness.”
In very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds, one through a single letter of signature, a partial separation to central horizontal fold, small hole to top left corner, and a couple trivial brushes to text. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in Clemens’s hand, and also bearing several notations in a foreign language, probably Norwegian.
As Clemens notes in this letter, Chatto & Windus was responsible for handling European editions of Mark Twain publications, including those translated into foreign languages. That agreement dated back 25 years, to the publication of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. However, the author did not garner much of a fan base with Nordic versions of his work. He hoped to find a new audience with a different publisher—no matter what Chatto & Windus had to say about the matter. If covert actions didn’t work, Clemens advised that they “do as the new negro song says” and go away, as this fresh deal had his personal endorsement. Clemens displays his witticism in this correspondence, even when the topic is a routine business matter. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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