O. Henry Book has Wealth of Fact Part: 1 of 2

                                
SUNDAY AMERICAN-STATESMAN, AUSTIN, TEXAS, JANUARY 8, 1939.
0. HENRY BOOK
HAS WEALTH
OF FACT
By TRUEMAN O'QUINN
Written for The American-Statesman
"A Bibliography of William Sydney
Porter 0. Henry)" by Paul S. Clark-
son.  The  Caxton  Printers, Ltd., Cald-
well, Idaho. $5.
Legend still clusters about the
name of O. Henry (William Sydney I
Porter) and obscures the real man.
But Paul S. Clarkson in his new
"Bibliography of William  Sydney
Porter (0. Henry)" published Dec.
15 by the Caxton Printers at Cald-
well, Idaho, has performed the her-
culean task of sweeping aside an
accumulation of 30 or 40 years of
barnacles to disclose a welcome
shipload of accurate information on
the writings of America's beloved
short story writer.
Mr. Clarkson is a lawyer in Bal-
timore, Md., and his work shows
the result of long training in the
science of turning out workmanlike
legal briefs with accurate citations.
Every book, every newspaper, mag-
azine or periodical of any kind with
few exceptions, in which a story,
poem or other writing by O. Henry
ever appeared is carefully listed in
161 pages packed with details of
description. Although Mr. Clark-
son makes no claim that his work
is definitive, it does not seem pos-
sible that much of importance re-
mains to be discovered among Por-
ter's works which might be added
to this volume.
Mr. Clarkson carefully lists the
locale of every O. Henry short story
and it is surprising to discover how
much material Will Porter drew
from  his life and experiences in
Austin and San Antonio.
Information Is Sought
The author's preface  fires  the
imagination with references to un-
solved mysteries about "missing"
works by O. Henry. One reference
is to the title page of a volume en-
titled  "McManus,    Professional,"
registered for copyright in Wash-
ington, D. C., Aug, 1, 1903. "No
copies of this volume," says Mr.
Clarkson, "were ever actually re-
ceived by the library of congress,"
and he wants to know if any one
has "information about this story,
whether in book or other form."
Mr. Clarkson also calls for proof
that O. Henry edited two issues ofi
the "Iconoclast" in 1894 in Austin
before he changed its name to "The
Rolling  Stone."  Other unsolved
mysteries will pique the curiosity
of students of O. Henry, particular-
ly those dealing wiith dramatiza-
tions of Porter's stories.
It is remarkable to note the care

with which Mr. Clarkson has sifted
such fine points as the difference
in spelling between  "Lotos"  and
"Lotus" between the original ap-
pearance of "The Lotos and the Bot-
tle" in Smart Set for 1902 and its
rewritten form as "The Lotus and
the Bottle" in the book "Cabbages
and Kings," published late in 1904.
The fact that "The Guardian of
the Scutcheon" later became "The
Guardian of the Accolade" was lit-
tle known among 0. Henry collec-
tors, or that the Jimmy Valentine
story, "A Retrieved Reformation,"
originally was "A   Retrieved Re-
form  -"..