To N. A. Leikin, 1886. Babkino.

1 This is a joint letter to Nikolai Alexandrovich Leikin, editor of the humor magazine "Oskolki" ("Splinters"), written from the Chekhovs’ summer retreat at Babkino in July 1886. It is unusual in form: the opening portion is written in the hand of Chekhov’s older brother Nikolai Pavlovich Chekhov, a talented but troubled artist and illustrator who worked for Leikin’s publications, discussing drawings he is submitting and pressing (half-jokingly, through Anton’s ventriloquized advice) for a raise in his page rate. Anton then takes over the pen to add his own postscript-within-the-letter, bowing "beneath the confession," reporting on a book review, and answering Leikin’s question about his spending with a joking "On women!!!!" The letter closes with a note about the arrival of a guest nicknamed "Aloe," who has an eye ailment.

2 The letter is a vivid document of the close, informal working relationship between the Chekhov brothers and their editor, and of the collaborative, joshing tone of the household at Babkino. It also captures Nikolai’s precarious position as a working illustrator negotiating pay, and Anton’s easy shift between managing his brother’s business and his own bantering correspondence.