[This is a slightly modified version of the introduction to the reprint of Mrs. Stanford's novel (Hungry Horse: Spotted Cap Books, 2012). See link to the right under “Suggested Reading.”]
The major source for Catherine's efforts is her correspondence and her scrapbook/diary in The Conrad, Campbell and Stanford Family Papers, 1818-1968, MSS Collection 185, Series III, Box 9, Folders 3 & 5, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, K. Ross Toole Archives, University of Montana, Missoula.
Catherine wrote her novel, Hearts Versus Diamonds, in an attempt to earn some income at a time when she was essentially penniless as a result of the sudden death of her husband and his abject failure to provide for her and their children in such a case. Most of their worldly goods went to satisfy his debtors, of which there were many, and they were rather rapacious. This is the story of the trials and tribulations she encountered in her attempt to get her story published. It wasn’t any easier for her to get published then than it would be today.
I: How her story ended up in a magazine.
By her own account, the story took Catherine but two months to write, but it took much longer for it to see print. It is notoriously difficult today for an unknown writer to break into print, and it was no different then. She began trying to sell her manuscript (MS) early in 1877 while still living in Chester, Nova Scotia, but it was not until over a year later, in April of 1878, that she succeeded in placing it with a publisher.
She initially contacted an acquaintance, Mr. Willard E. Erskine of St. John, New Brunswick, but he was unable to help her directly as he was a publisher and distributor of Bibles, maps, chromo-lithographs, etc. However, sometime in late January of 1877, he forwarded her letter to Belford Brothers, Publishers, of Toronto, but they were not interested in seeing her manuscript (MS) and on 4 February 1877, so informed her.[1]
Catherine next queried Roberts Brothers, a prominent Boston publisher. They indicated they were always looking for book manuscripts, but periodical works were not accepted.[2] She then submitted the MS of Hearts Versus Diamonds to Roberts Brothers and on 20 November 1877, received a form rejection letter from them along with her returned MS.
Belford Brothers had, in their initial correspondence with her, suggested she try some New York publishers, and so she enlisted the aid of an acquaintance, Mrs. Nellie F. Lordly[3] of that city, in this endeavor and in whose hands she left the MS for six months. Mrs. Lordly reported she had tried every publisher in New York, although Catherine later doubted this.[4]
Mr. Erskine wrote to her on 21 November 1877 apologizing for having failed to respond to her previous letter and for being unable to help her. He also stated he intended to forward her letter to Belford Brothers, in what appears to be a second attempt to get them interested, but doesn’t expect they will take it. This was apparently in reference to a letter from Catherine later than the one mentioned in Belford’s letter of 4 February (supra). There appears to be some correspondence missing, the presence of which would help clear up this somewhat confusing series of events.
Belford Brothers replied to Erskine on 13 December 1877 that they were not at that time accepting anything Canadian until Spring “unless it has unusual merit,” but suggested he send the MS to them for “examination.” Even better, however, they went on to say, would be to send it to Mr. George Stewart of NY, whose judgment they trusted, for his evaluation. On the back of this letter, Erskine wrote to Catherine that he had contacted Mr. Stewart who said he would get to it as soon as he could. Erskine said he’d let her know as soon as he heard back from Stewart. It is apparent from all this that Erskine had in his possession a copy of the MS.
On 10 January 1878, Catherine wrote to Mr. Erskine informing him that she had received a “polite rejection” from Belford Brothers and then brings up several publishers including H. Osgood of Boston, and asks his advice as to which of them to try.
Mr. Erskine wrote on 4 January 1878[5]—six days previous to Catherine’s letter to him[6]—that when Belford Brothers wrote her rejecting the book, they could not have seen her MS yet, as he had not sent it to them, and that they could not have heard from Stewart, either, as he had not had the time to look it over! What he suggested, therefore, was that Stewart may have simply taken a look at the size of the MS and determined that it was too long for a magazine and too short for a book and so informed Belford. Further, Erskine said that upon Belford’s actual rejection, he would send it to a publisher in Philadelphia with whom he did business. He then apparently renewed his efforts with Belford Brothers on her behalf, retrieving the MS from Mr. Stewart and forwarding it to them again, calling them on their previous rejection and requesting that they themselves evaluate the enclosed manuscript.
Belford took a long time to respond after actually receiving the MS. Having not heard from them by early February, Erskine sent a postcard to Catherine (11 February 1878) saying he was puzzled as to why they hadn’t responded yet and he would write them again.
At this time in early 1878, Fort Benton and the change of fortune encountered there lay yet ahead and Catherine was getting desperate to get the work published, as her financial situation was precarious and getting worse. She referred to her plight in her letter of 10 January 1878 to Erskine: “...advise me what to do– in positive desperation to turn this into money– however little.... ...and from the truly kind interest expressed before– I am sure you will sympathize with a widow fighting the wolf from the door.”
But while she was desperate to make a sale, she was not yet quite so desperate as to let it go to a bottom-ranking house, as is evidenced by this comment to Erskine: “I truly regret that Belford Brothers will not favor me. The countenance of a house of their standing would indeed have been a credit to me. I am not ambitious to rank with servant girl literature.”[7]
Some of the publishers she aspired to were of such lofty mien that they required a formal introduction before they would consider a MS from a new writer. Harper & Brothers was one such, and in order to secure the needed introduction, Catherine wrote to the daughter of an old friend from Halifax, a Mrs. Monroe, whose husband was apparently employed by Harper & Brothers in some unspecified capacity.[8] There is no indication in Catherine’s correspondence of a reply.
On 22 February 1878, Mr. Erskine wrote that he had finally heard from Belford informing him that they had returned the MS to Catherine thereby officially and finally rejecting it. He instructed her to send it on to John E. Potter & Co., Philadelphia, and to let him know when she had done so.
Aside from Mr. Erskine’s efforts, she had apparently taken it upon herself to shop her MS to at least one other publisher, for on 28 February, she received a form rejection letter from Houghton, Osgood & Co., Boston.[9] This rejection could have been in response to a query letter, as the one MS was still in the hands of Belford, unless, as appears increasingly likely, she did indeed have a second MS.
On 13 March 1878, she then sent the MS to Potter as Mr. Erskine had instructed, and on 23 March, they sent her a long, hand-written and very sympathetic rejection, citing economic reasons. They further indicated that should business improve, they would be more amenable to accepting it.
Catherine never gave up, as she was quite determined to get the story published, and on 16 April, she wrote a query letter to the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book.[10] Before she received a reply, however, she received most welcome news from an unexpected source. Apparently, after having rejected her MS, the book arm of the Potter publishing business passed it on to their magazine section, for she received a letter dated 18 April 1878 from G. F. Feather, editor of Potter’s American Monthly referring to her letter of 13 March which had accompanied the MS and to another letter she had written (date unspecified) and offering to purchase her MS for publication for $20.00 (equivalent to $615 today), noting that it would have to be re-worked into chapters to make it suitable for publication. Although they did offer to purchase the MS, it was a somewhat lukewarm offer:
.... The Godey’s magazine is still published, but not by Mr. Godey. Should you prefer having us send it to them, to accepting our offer for it, we shall do so and comply with your request as to “evidence of rejection.”
We are not particularly desirous of using the mss [sic], as we have a goodly supply on hand at present, and would suggest that if you can possibly do better with it elsewhere, that you avail yourself of the privilege.
By this time, Catherine was ready to sell, and she replied on 24 April that she would prefer to accept their offer over waiting further. The magazine’s desultory attitude towards publishing her MS was reflected in their equally desultory and cavalier payment schedule, as she was not paid until 16 October 1878 and then only after she had dunned them at least once, though the first installment of her story had appeared in the July 1878 issue of Potter’s American Monthly. Her patience had won out and she was at last a published author.
II: Book publication at last!
The next chapter in the story of the publication of Catherine’s book began on 11 March 1884, when she wrote to the Potter company requesting permission to use her story. It must be remembered that at that time, the publisher often retained the copyright, not the author. On 21 March, the company gladly granted her request. She was free to use her story in any manner she desired, yet did nothing for some time.
It was not until the last half of the 1890’s that Catherine made any attempt to re-publish her story. Her remaining correspondence for that period has nothing pertaining to the eventual publication by the publisher F. Tennyson Neely save a reference in a letter from her son James T. Stanford in early February of 1899, wherein he congratulates her on the pending publication of her book and requests she send him a copy when it appears.
Fortunately, Catherine was an inveterate diarist, and in a diary which she also used as a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, she kept some record of events surrounding the re-printing of her book. The entries are more like notes to herself and thus they do make one wish the correspondence was still extant, but we must make do with what we have.
The entries are often sparse, and the account that follows is necessarily equally sparse. Of the events leading up to her submitting the MS to Neely, little is known. The first mention of anything regarding her book found in this diary/scrapbook is dated 16 February 1896. It simply notes that she had sent the MS and a letter to a Mr. Canfield who replied on 8 March, but the substance of that reply was not noted, only the fact itself. Since the actual correspondence is not extant, we cannot be certain whether this exchange had any bearing on eventual publication or not, although that is the most likely explanation.
In the following months, there are but a few entries which appear to refer to her MS. The first is on 19 August, 1897: received polite but discouraging letter from Wm. Dresser, Boston. That she had actually sent her MS to Dresser is confirmed in the entry for 23 September where she noted, Wrote to Mr. Dresser for my M. S. The diary does not mention when she sent the MS to Dresser.
Then on 20 August 1897, she entered, Write to Munn & Co. New York – Receive answer on 30th. As Munn was a publisher, I assume this was a query letter, as her MS was still in Mr. Dresser’s custody, and she makes no mention of Munn returning a MS to her. Were it one of her usual book orders, she would have indicated such and given the title of whatever book she had ordered as was her custom.
The next entry regarding her MS is on15 November 1898, and is apparently a note to herself: Send Manuscript to Syndicate Department / F. Tennyson Neely, Publishers / 114 Fifth Avenue / New York. Thus begins a months-long saga with this publisher.
She duly sent the MS to Neely and on 26 November, she noted she had received an acknowledgment from Neely.
Her choice of publishers was, on the whole, a good one, as Neely was prolific, successful and had an excellent stable of authors, including Jules Verne, Robert W. Chambers, Charles King, James Whitcomb Riley and many others from the famous to the obscure.
On 23 December 1898, she wrote to Neely to “make them an offer in answer to theirs,” apparently negotiating with them over the terms. On 1 January 1899, she noted that she had received letters “and signed deeds” from F. Tennyson Neely. I assume this refers to the necessary contracts and other documents. It appears that Neely had agreed to publish her book on a subsidized basis, as she sent the publisher $170.00 on 14 January 1899 and $30.00 to Dr. Carlos Martyn of Chicago[11] who was acting as a literary advisor, or outside editor, for Neely.[12] She received separate acknowledgment of receipt of the funds from both parties on 22 January, 1899.
She replied to Neely’s letter of 22 January on the 23rd and supplied them with what she referred to as the desired “Syllabus.” In early February, they acknowledge receipt of her “Literary Note” as she called it and she noted that they promised speedy issue. I assume that the “Syllabus/Literary Note” was a brief author biography or something else along that line to be used in advertising and that they were telling her that her book would be issued as quickly as might be.
As she had heard nothing further from them by early March, she apparently got anxious and so on the 13th of March, she wrote to her daughter, Alicia D. Conrad[13] asking her to “call on my Publishers,” but her anxiety was premature, for on 17 March, she received the page proofs for her to review and correct. The business card of the printer, Charles D. Sibley,[14] was attached to the proofs.
In late April, she received a letter from her daughter with some good news: her son-in-law, C. E. Conrad, had called upon the publishers and they had assured him that the book was to be published “the last week in April.” In that assessment, they were a bit optimistic.
The publisher registered the copyright on 2 May 1899,[15] and the depository copies were received 9 June, but the announced publication date was July.[16] The book’s publication was not announced to the trade until the September 30, 1899 issue of Publisher’s Weekly (p. 435), but it was apparently not listed in the Publishers’ Trade List Annual, as Neely does not show up in the index for that year. The only advertisements for it that I have been able to find are all in September,[17] so it would seem that the publisher was gearing up for the Christmas season which was as important to merchants then as it is now. The giving of books as Christmas presents was a common practice among the literate class, as is attested by the number of such gifts in the Conrad Mansion library collection.
On 30 May 1899, well in advance of publication, the authoress received her newly printed book and noted in her diary: My Book [double underline]“Heart’s [sic] v. s. [sic] Diamonds” (12 copies) arrives from F. Tennyson Neely, 114 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. Note the double underlining of ‘my book,’ indicating her obvious excitement. And who can blame her? It had been a long time in coming, and she wasted no time sharing her joy by distributing copies. The first one went to her eldest son, James Tyson Stanford, as he had previously requested. Copies were also given to her daughter and her other two sons[18] and several other friends and family members, including the Rev. Mr. Clowes, rector of Christ Church Episcopal, Kalispell, Montana, where the family attended church. Two copies were also given to the public library in Kalispell,[19]. Catherine eventually received and gave away a total of twenty-five copies of her book.
The joy was soon overshadowed by clouds, however, as Catherine received word from Dr. Martyn on 1 November 1899 that her publisher, F. T. Neely, was about to go bankrupt. Neely had, in fact, already filed his bankruptcy petition with the U. S. District Court for New York.[20] This was of concern on a number of points, among which were future payment of any royalties due and ownership of the copyright.
Her counsel (Dr. Carlos Martyn and Dr. Rideal)[21] advised that she vote at the meeting of the creditors at the Bankruptcy Court on 8 November for a continuance of the publisher’s business. This she did by proxy and enlisted the aid of her son-in-law, C. E. Conrad and his head teller, J. H. Edwards, in completing the necessary papers. Catherine noted that All the creditors but two of the large circle of Authors are to vote for continuance. I hope all will yet be well.
In mid-November, Dr. Martyn informed her that an appraiser had been appointed and if she had not been notified in three weeks time, she should write him. She wrote him on 10 December, but heard nothing further for some time.
She finally heard from Dr. Martyn on 17 January 1900, offering for a small fee to negotiate on her behalf the cancellation of her contract and copyright with Neely, thereby returning all rights to her, which offer she promptly accepted and remitted the necessary funds ($13.75).
A new twist presented itself on 12 February upon the receipt of a letter from Martyn & Rideal which advised her of a new enterprise they were launching: a magazine called Literary Life which they would be publishing from their business address of 114 Fifth Avenue, NY,[22] under the imprint of the Abbey Press[23] and on 15 February, she received another letter from Martyn and Rideal in which they refunded $37.50[24] to her and suggested she herself negotiate with the trustees of the Neely estate for the release of her copyright, having apparently failed in their attempts.
She responded to the above two letters with one and offered to place her book with them, as the Abbey Press, under “the same terms as F. Tennyson Neely.” This statement is important for several reasons. Firstly, the Abbey Press was what is known today as a vanity press, that is, one where the author pays for the publication.[25, 26] Secondly, according to the Publishers’ Weekly article cited previously, their Abbey Press was operated the same way F. T. Neely had been,[27] i. e., the authors paid the publisher to be published. This would explain the $170.00—a not inconsiderable sum equivalent to $6,289.00 today—Catherine paid to F. Tennyson Neely on 17 January 1899. She was now offering to do the same with them and with the same royalty Neely agreed to. She later retracted this offer, although she eventually expressed her regret at having done so.
She returned to the fight on the Neely bankruptcy matter and pursued the matter directly as she had been counseled, but with little success. Although the Neely estate agreed to ship her the printing plates for her book and she pre-paid the freight charges to the printer, it is not certain whether she ever received the plates to her book. If she did, their current whereabouts are unknown.
The matter did not end so much as fade away. She received notice of a meeting of creditors of the Neely estate to be held on 9 April 1900 to consider the offer of E. R. Gilmann to purchase the remaining assets at 55% of their appraised value. Her inquiry to the referee[28] as to the value of her claim was answered, but she did not record what his response was. She did, however, record her displeasure with it. Her last entry on the matter, dated 16 April 1900, reads:
“J. H. Edwards advised me to write for more lucid statements, which I do. (No Answer given! Frauds. [sic]”
There the matter rests.
❧ ❧ ❧
The Novel: Hearts vs. Diamonds
Catherine Coggan Stanford published her story under a male pseudonym (Carl Chester), as it was often felt to be more socially acceptable in the upper classes, to which Catherine felt she belonged, even though women were successfully publishing under their own names, and had been for some time.[29] The Brontë sisters, Emily and Charlotte, were among the more prominent women writers who used male pseudonyms, writing as Acton and Currer Bell.
In this particular case, however, Catherine had another reason to use a pseudonym: the story is semi-autobiographical, and the use of a pseudonym gave a certain level of privacy: the names of persons are the same as, or very similar to, people she knew, both family and friends. Some of those similarities are discussed below.
The heroine’s name is Catherine Davenport. Her first name is obviously the author’s own, and Catherine Stanford was descended from the Davenport family, her maternal grand-mother having been Alicia Ann Davenport.
The heroine has both an aunt and a cousin named Hetty, and the author had both an aunt and a first cousin with that name. Her cousin, Henrietta Hagen Cook[30] of Gloustershire, England, was Catherine’s favorite cousin, and they maintained an active correspondence until Hetty’s death in 1898. There are others scattered throughout the text.
Catherine followed that old dictum “write what you know” and drew upon her own life and experiences—and the people she knew—in the course of writing Hearts Versus Diamonds. The place names are all real places in England and America; the heroine comes to Boston (Lynn), Massachusetts, on board the Cunard mail steamship HBM Niagara on its maiden voyage early in 1850. The real-life counterpart was the Cunard mail steamship RMS Niagara which made its maiden voyage from Liverpool to Halifax and Boston on 20 May 1848[31] and was the ship upon which the author arrived in Boston from England.
The heroine notes that her Aunt Endicott, who had been as a second mother to her, had Quaker ways. Catherine’s own mother was of Quaker stock and Catherine herself was raised in Quaker ways and she kept them until shortly after she married James Stanford at which time she was baptized into the Episcopal Church at Lynn, Massachusetts.[32]
By drawing upon her own background, Catherine Stanford was able to give her novella a certain verisimilitude that helps to make it better than much of the Victorian fiction of its type. It is not great literature, nor was it intended to be, but it thankfully does not suffer from the excesses of florid and purple prose which so many such works of the time labored under, and as a result, is a pleasant diversion and very much a creature of its time and place, yet on a par with today’s Regency period romances, a genre which has fallen on hard times.
❧ ❧ ❧
Bibliographic Notes
1. Potter’s American Monthly, Figs 1 - 3.
“Potter’s American Monthly, an Illustrated Magazine of History, Literature, Science and Art” claimed to be ‘The Popular Illustrated Magazine of America’. Published in Philadelphia by John E. Potter & Company from July of 1873 to 1882, each volume consisted of six monthly consecutively numbered parts, with continuous page numbering per volume.
Hearts Versus Diamonds was serialized in volume XI beginning in the July 1878 issue (Vol. XI, No. 1; whole No. 80) and concluding in the November issue (Vol. XI, No. 5; whole No. 84,) as follows:
No. 80: p. 97-103, Chaps 1, 2
No. 81: p. 177-187, Chaps 3, 4
No. 82: p. 265-272, Chaps 5, 6
No. 83: p. 337-348, Chaps 7– 9
No. 84: p. 441-451, Chaps 10–13
2. F. T. Neely, 1899, Figs 4 & 5.
Size: 5 ¼ x 7 ½ in. (duodecimo=12mo.), 247 pages. Bound in green linen, the front cover with a black border, back cover plain. Title in silver on front cover, publisher name in silver at bottom of front cover & foot of spine; spine silver; edges colored red. The book retailed for $1.00.
The book design is a standard design Neely used on many of his fiction books in this period (ca. 1899). For example, the cover & title page for A Charleston Love Story or, Hortense Vanross by T. G. Steward [Theophilus Gould Steward] (NY: F. T. Neely, 1899) are uniform with HvD in the design and type used with the exception that the border line on the front cover of Hortense is orange, whereas it is black in HvD.
A copy is in the Library of Congress, LCCN 99002505, LC Classification PZ3.C4256. I have been unable to locate copies in any other library. As one might expect, copies are extremely difficult to find. I do not imagine that many were sold. Of the two copies outside of the LC known to me, one is one of the 25 author presentation copies and the other was purchased from a used book dealer.
NOTES
1. In their letter, Belford Bros. referred to Mr. Erskine’s actions on her behalf.
2. Note from Roberts Bros., 1 September 1877.
3. Letter from Mrs. Lordly, 16 October 1877. She also indicated that she was returning the MS via a mutual friend who was returning to Chester. The date of this letter would indicate that she received the MS some time in May. Catherine did not try other publishers during this period as Mrs. Lordly supposedly had the only copy of her MS, but if that were the case, what did Catherine send to Roberts Brothers? I suspect she meant the only other copy.
4. Letter to Mr. Erskine, 10 January 1878. It is also in this letter that she states that her MS had been in NY for six months.
5. In response to a previous request from Catherine for encouragement, he says that although he had no experience in the “business of author,” he did know that it is often difficult for an author to get published, for publishers are taking a risk with an unknown and if the book doesn’t sell, they are stuck with it. It is the same today!
6. It would appear that Belford had also written Mr. Erskine when they wrote Catherine rejecting her MS and that he had received that letter before she had received hers and thus hers to Erskine and his to her had crossed in the mail.
7. This term is rarely used today, but it referred to cheap romances of little lasting literary value. Virtually the entire modern romance genre would fall under this term.
8. 19 February1878. The copy of this letter in the archives is a draft, with many corrections and changes. It is not certain that this letter was ever actually sent.
9. Founded by James R. Osgood and Henry O. Houghton in 1878, it was absorbed by Houghton-Mifflin and Company in 1880, which later absorbed Harcourt, Brace to become Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers. That’s the extremely simplified version.
10. Godey’s was one of the most popular lady’s magazine of the 19th century. Each issue contained poetry, beautiful engravings of current fashions and articles by some of the most well-known authors in America. If she was accepted here, she would have been off to a great start!
11. Dr. Carlos Martyn (1841-1917), was a well-known Congregational minister, speaker and literary figure of the time. (Who’s Who in America, 1899-1900. Ed. John W. Leonard. Chicago: A. N. Marquis & Co., [1899].) He himself had a novel published by Neely in 1896, but most of his works were published by others.
12. Publishers’ Weekly, 7 Jan 1905 [No. 1719], p. 11.
13. Alicia was about mid-way through a three month trip to the East Coast at this time. She and her youngest daughter, Alicia, had accompanied her husband on this extended trip.
14. The printer had just recently moved from 10, 12 Vandewater St., the address printed on the card. The new address was rubber-stamped on the card: “REMOVED TO 441 PEARL STREET.”
15. Catalogue of title entries of books and other articles entered in the office of the register of copyrights, Library of Congress, etc., Vol. 19, no. 1, p. 978, #1039: Chester, Carl. Hearts versus Diamonds a novel. London & New York, FT Neely, 1899. 247 pp 12mo. 1632. Copyright by F. Tennyson Neely, New York, 1899. no 30003. May 2. 2 copies rec’d June 9 1899.
16. Publisher’s ad, The Dial (Sept. 16, 1899, p. 210), which lists all 40 titles published in July.
17. The same ad cited in footnote 16, , was placed in the 2 September issue (p. 287) of The Literary World, and a ½ page ad was placed in the September 1899 issue (p. 188) of American Homes.
18. One of these presentation copies has come into the author’s hands by the kindness of Mr. Nunham Stanford. This copy was originally inscribed and given to the author’s son, Harry P. Stanford of Kalispell, Montana. It bears on the front free end-paper the inscription, With Tenderest Love / To / My Son Harry / By / The Authoress / Kalispell / 1899. Nunham Stanford purchased it from a Massachusetts bookseller on E-bay in 2005. It currently resides in the author’s collection. How it made its way from Kalispell, Montana, to Massachusetts is a mystery.
19. As might be expected, these copies have long since disappeared.
20. Filed 21 October 1899. The publisher, it seems, was caught in the crunch caused by the proliferation of cheap reprints that were flooding the market at the time, as he was having problems getting his books printed and bound when needed because the printers & binders were horribly backlogged. His cash flow thereby suffered, and he could not meet his obligations. Two of his major creditors refused to accept his re-organization plan, thus forcing him into receivership. (F. Tennyson Neely Bankrupt. New York Times, 22 October 1899.)
21. Charles Frederick Rideal (b. 1851) was Dr. Martyn’s business partner. Originally from England where he was the proprietor of the Roxburghe Press, he came to New York ca. 1895, where he quickly established himself in publishing circles. He continued activities on both sides of the Atlantic for a number of years.
22. This was previously the address of F. T. Neely.
23. This ill-fated venture was established and operated as a partnership under this registered business name until 1902, when they incorporated as Abbey Press, Inc. The business failed in 1903 under suspicious circumstances and in January of 1905, both partners were arrested under suspicion of theft and fraud. (Dr. Carlos Martyn Held, New York Daily Tribune, Wed., January 4, 1905, p. 3)
24. The $13.75 previously mentioned may have been the remaining balance due on the total fee due her agents, but there is nothing to indicate this in the document.
25. op. cit., footnote 12: “...it [the Abbey Press, ed.–] at once began to publish quantities of books at the expense of their authors who could in no other way get before the public.”
26. That they continued to operate this way is indicated by several ads placed in the pages of the March and April, 1900, issues of Literary Digest: Authors’ Manuscripts critically exam- / ined and prepared for the press. Publi- / cation secured. Address / DR. CARLOS MARTYN / Box 166 Madison Square Post Office / New York City
27. Op. cit., footnote 12: “When Neely went into bankruptcy, they [Martyn & Rideal - Ed.] founded the Abbey Press and carried on business along the old lines.”
28. Morris & Wise, Referee in Bankruptcy, 50 & 52 Exchange Place, Manhattan, New York City.
29. For example, Grace Aguilar (1816-1847) had a successful career under her own name and her books continued in print for many years after her death; and, of course, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) was also successful under her own name.
30. 1826-1898, daughter of Benjamin Olive Hagen and Henrietta Barbara Tyson, Catherine’s maternal aunt. Henrietta Cook signed her letters “Hetta.”
31. https://norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=niaga Accessed 12/12/2023. The Niagara was designated a Royal Mail Ship/Steamship, thus the RMS in the ship’s name. She was sold to Duncan Dunbar in 1866 and became a sailing ship.
32. Baptismal certificate in the Conrad/Campbell/Stanford collection, K. Ross Toole Archives, Univ. Mt., Missoula.
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