[Collection of Original Materials Documenting John Howell's Publication of SKETCHES OF THE SIXTIES by Bret Harte and Mark Twain]

[San Francisco, 1926. Small collection of page proofs, typescript portions, and other production materials, plus a later letter transmitting the material to a collector. Some expected wear. Overall very good. An assortment of original production materials relating to the publication of Sketches of the Sixties, an assemblage of previously uncollected material written by Bret Harte and Mark Twain during their time together at The Californian in the 1860s. The work was published by San Francisco bookseller John Howell in 1926, with the title page designed by the legendary Edwin Grabhorn. The present archive includes corrected page proofs of various portions of the work, mainly the preliminary materials and Introduction in loose gatherings, with portions of a couple of later chapters, as well. There are also clippings of various portions of the book, such as the colophon. Some of the typewritten material, executed on legal-sized sheets, likely precedes the corrected page proofs, and includes portions of the contents pages (with numerous pencil corrections), parts of some of the sketches (carrying titles "Just Sixty Years Ago" and "Steamer Day"), and the Introduction (again with some notable pencil corrections). There are also a few proofs of illustrations.

John Howell originally sent the material to Mark Twain collector E.W. Evans, Jr. in Oil City, Pennsylvania, according to a letter dated December 15, 1934 included here. In "going over some papers," Howell thought Evans would like the material "as you have such a fine Mark Twain collection." Howell notes that the material "has no particular value but some of it may be of interest to you." We think it is of interest and some particular value, especially to California book collectors and fans of Howell and Grabhorn.