Description:

Clemens Samuel 1835 - 1910 AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY MARK TWAIN, OFFERING CONDOLENCES TO FRANK FULLER ON THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE,"HOW BLESSíED ARE THE DEAD, HOW FORTUNATE ARE THE DEAD!"

Mark Twains signs a heartfelt autograph letter, "Ever Your Friend, Mark",New York: February 10, 1906. One 12mo page of mourning stationery (measuring 4 by 6 inches), writing on recto only; framed with matted photographic portrait of Twain (measuring 4 by 5-1/2 inches) and matted photographic view of Stormfield (measuring 4 by 6 inches); entire piece measures 15 by 18 inches.

Twain's sorrowful autograph letter of condolence to Frank Fuller on the death of his wife, Mary, framed with photographs of Twain in his later years and his last home, Stormfield.

Twain's letter of condolence to Mr. Frank Fuller, written on black-bordered mourning stationery from Twain's home at 21 Fifth Avenue in New York City, reads, in full: "Feb. 10/ 06. I am so glad, dear Fuller, so glad I made that visit, & so sorry the rush & turmoil of life prevented my repeating it. I have words of sorrow for you, but not for her: how blessí©d are the dead, how fortunate are the dead!" Twain had known the recipient as "the wartime governor of the Utah Territory [and] a tireless and enthusiastic experimenter... He was a speculator and a promoter - an honest one - who later, during the 1870s and 1880s, involved or tried to involve Clemens in a number of schemes, including railroad bonds as good as gold and a revolutionary new steam engine for tugboats" (Kaplan, 22-23). "By Mark Twain's own account, Fuller had boundless energy that produced - one enthusiasm per day, and it was always a storm" (Rasmussen, 158). Twain visited Fuller and his wife, Mary, a few days before her death. Her brother, Jacob H. Thompson, had been murdered in September 1905. "A couple of months ago," Twain wrote in his Autobiography, "I ran across Fuller on the street and he was looking so very, very old, so withered, so moldy, that I could hardly recognize him. He said his wife was dying of the shock caused by the murder of her brother; that nervous prostration was carrying her off and she could not live more than a few days - so I went with him to see her." Framed with photographs of Twain and his last home, Stormfield, near Redding, Connecticut. He moved in on June 18, 1908: "Years of travel and the bustle of New York City life made it a welcome change" (Rasmussen, 446).

Light creasing, small marginal closed tear (repaired) to letter. A handsome framed piece.

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