Charles W. Chesnutt to Houghton Mifflin Company, 4 August 1924
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August 4, 1924
Houghton Mifflin Company,
2 Park Street,
Boston 8, Mass.
Gentlemen:
Replying somewhat belatedly to your letter of May 28th, in which you make me an offer of the plates and dies for the HOUSE BEHIND THE CEDARS1 and THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH2, as it would probably be merely a matter of sentiment if I bought them and the chances are almost nothing that I would ever print from them, I think you may as well let them be scrapped.
With thanks for your past consideration, I remain
Very truly yours, CWC.WCorrespondent: Houghton Mifflin Company had its roots in Ticknor and Fields, a notable publishing house founded in 1832 in Boston, Massachusetts. By 1880, Houghton, Mifflin & Company (later incorporated as Houghton Mifflin Company) had become a major force in U.S. publishing, a position strengthened when it began to publish textbooks in the 1890s. The firm published both of Chesnutt's short story collections, two of his three novels, and, as publishers of the Atlantic Monthly, several of his short stories. Chesnutt corresponded with the company from 1891 to 1931.
1. The House Behind the Cedars (Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 1900) was Chesnutt's first published novel. House evolved over more than a decade from a short story, "Rena Walden," first drafted in the late 1880s. It was the only novel by Chesnutt to be serialized, once in 1900-1901 in the monthly Self Culture and again in 1921-1922 in the Black weekly Chicago Defender. House was also his only novel to be adapted to film (1924 and 1932). [back]
2. The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line was published by Houghton, Mifflin & Company in December 1899. It was reprinted once in 1901; in 1924, the printing plates were melted down because of low demand. [back]
