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Rare Books
The letters of Ambrose Bierce
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Manuscripts
This letter, which Ambrose Bierce wrote from Readyville, Tennessee, is addressed to Jonathan D. Hale. At the time, Bierce was serving as chief of scouts for General William Babcock Hazen; Hale was chief scout for General George Henry Thomas. The letter is about the activities of Union scouts in Tennessee, and reads: "Dr. Hale, Sir, I am requested by Mr. D. F. Bragg to write you and let you know where he is and what he is doing, as he thinks perhaps you may blame him for not reporting to you. He is here and rendering me valuable assistance. His residence is only a few miles from here and he is able to pick up some valuable information in regard to the movements of the small bodies of the enemy cavalry in our vicinity. He is a sort of connecting link in a chain of scouts which I have established between here and Auburn and is doing good service. If you can spare him I should like very well to keep him here. He requests me to send you the enclosed letter from a rebel soldier though the letter is of little account. Very Resp'y Yr. Obt. Svt. A. G. Bierce."
mssHM 83405
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Manuscripts
The Ambrose Bierce Correspondence File consists of letters written by Bierce between 1871 and 1913. Much of the letters are concerned with details of Bierce's multi- volume Collected Works, and a majority are written to the editor of that project, Walter Neale. The letters contain discourse about the contents of the volumes, transportation of proofs, and deadlines. A good number of the remaining letters are written to Bierce contemporary Silas Orrin Howes (1867- 1918), who edited another collection of Bierce's work, The Shadow on the Dial and Other Essays (1909). These letters are largely concerned with that book and the process of assembling and publishing the Collected Works, although personal details are also present. The File also contains twenty-three letters to the California author Charles Warren Stoddard (1843-1909). These letters are less business-oriented and more personal, detailing matters such as invitations to dinner and various relationships with literary figures of the era. Many of the letters feature examples of Bierce's trademark dry wit. Writing to Howes on his birthday, Bierce comments "This is my birthday – I am 366 years old" (HM 7304). Apologizing to Neale for a long-winded reaction to criticism, Bierce writes "You happen to be standing in the channel of my verbal flood" (HM 10254). And, writing to Neale on December 26, 1909, Bierce says "I trust you had a Christmas. Fill in your own adjective" (HM 10275). Bierce was also prone to insightful quips, such as "The least one can do is what one commonly does" (HM 10237), "The conviction that all men are rogues is quite as disastrous to one's interest as the conviction that no one is" (HM 10282), and "Good substitutes for truth are not so plentiful as some persons imagine" (HM 10207). Almost all the letters are autographed and signed, and some include the envelope. The File also contains an annotated printer's copy of Volume VIII of Bierce's Collected Works, which consists of "Negligible Tales" and "Kings of Beasts" (HM 10458).
mssBierce