Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) Hand-Addressed Envelope

Addressed "From / S. L. Clemens," postmarked from New York, and addressed to "Larry Hutton / Onteora / Tannersville / N.Y.," July 1894, with the "Landing of Columbus" 2-cent stamp first issued in 1893, and the embossed symbol of The Players club on the flap. (4 1/16 x 5 1/8 in.) Laurence Hutton (1843-1904), who Mark Twain addressed by his nickname "Larry," was an author as well as a critic, most notably for Harper's Magazine. Like Twain, he was a member of The Players, actually serving as the club's secretary. Onteora, a popular summer destination in the Catskills, was frequented by many literary guests, including Clemens and Hutton.

This Lot also includes a related second envelope, hand-addressed by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. to "Charles Dudley Warner Esq / Hartford / Conn.," 1884, postmarked from Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. (3 5/8 x 4 5/8 in.) Holmes (1809-1894), a doctor and author, wrote a well-known biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was published not long after he addressed this to Warner who served as the editor of the book. Charles Dudley Warner (1829-1900) was also Mark Twain's close friend and the two men co-authored the novel The Gilded Age.

Both envelopes with expected light wear from age, handling, and mailing; the first additionally with a small area of white residue at the top edge, and the second opened from the side with an associated small tear; both fairly neatly opened.