Vol 3 Section 0012
– The double dagger was used in reprints of vol. I and II to designate additions or corrections in later print runs. (Not used in Vol. III) These now may now be accessed online:
http://MarkTwainDayByDay.webs.com
Dates: I have followed the conventions used by the University of California Press on the volumes of
Mark Twain’s Letters, except I offer the day of the week, which in some cases is helpful. To wit:
October 5 Thursday – Sources indicate this is a confirmed date, or a deduced date from events or other evidence. Firm dates come before conjectured or circa dates and date ranges.
October 3? Tuesday –
The question mark indicates a conjecture of October 3. Conjecture dates are listed separately following firm dates.
June 24–29 Saturday –
A span of dates joined by a dash indicates a less specific conjecture: the date or dates of composition are thought to fall within this span. Day of the week is ascribed to the last date in the span. The last date in a period is noted by its day of the week. Such entries are listed separately.
June 24 to 29 Saturday – Not a conjecture, but an assertion that some event ran from June 24 through June 29. Such date ranges are listed separately.
May 2 and 3 Friday –
Not a conjecture, but an assertion that the event or activity occurred at least in part on both days. Such inclusive dates are listed separately.
May 1 Friday ca. –
A conjecture of circa a date, month, year or season. Similar to May 1st? but with less specificity. May also be specified as “on or before,” or “on or after.” Circa dates are listed separately.
February –
Items for which only a month is known, or for magazine-type publications issued for a given month.
1863 –
Items for which a year is known, but not a month or date.
Note: Dates are arranged in order; spans of dates and single dates are sorted by the first date in a span. Conjectured dates are usually separate from known or consensus dates. Thus there are separate entries for May 1 Friday, and May 1? Friday ; May 17 Thursday would follow May 12–20 Sunday. Occasionally entries are labeled “Mid-month” or “End of Month” or “Early Spring,” etc. Confirmed dates are listed first.
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