During the years 1934 and 1935 I made a close study of O. Henry's
Texas contacts. The newspapers of Texas during the time of O. Henry's
residence in the state furnished one of the sources which I
investigated; and it was during my research in the files of the
_Houston Post_, 1895-1896, that I discovered the stories and
illustrations which make up this book. In reprinting this material, I
have followed the original version meticulously except for the
correction of obvious typographical errors and certain slight
aberrations in punctuation that seemed to demand revision for the sake
of consistency or to comply with modern standards of usage. Even so, I
have allowed many typographical and even grammatical conventions to
remain as they were printed forty years ago.
The companion volume to O. Henry Encore, namely, O. Henry in Texas,
embodies the results of my investigation into the Texas period of O.
Henry's life, and contains a much more complete account of his work on
the _Houston Post_ than I have been able to give in the short
introduction to the present volume.
Permission for reprinting the material here was arranged for me by
former Governor W. P. Hobby of Texas, now President of the Houston
Post, and Mr. A. E. Clarkson, Business Manager of the Post. I am happy
to express my gratitude to them. My thanks are due also to Dr.
Leonidas Warren Payne, Jr., of The University of Texas, Dr. Vernon
Loggins, of Columbia University, and the late Dr. Dorothy Scarborough,
of Columbia University, for helping in the identification of the
material. Mary Sunlocks Harrell