To A. I. Sumbatov, 27–28 December 1889. Moscow.
А. И. СУМБАТОВУ (ЮЖИНУ), 27 или 28 декабря 1889 г. Москва
Headnote
1 Date and addressee. 27 or 28 December 1889, Moscow. Written to Prince Alexander Ivanovich Sumbatov (stage name Yuzhin; 1857–1927), actor and playwright at the Maly Theatre in Moscow and a longtime friend of Chekhov’s. The dating is uncertain in the source (“27 or 28 December”), reflecting the editors’ best estimate from postal and internal evidence rather than an explicit date in Chekhov’s hand.
2 A brief holiday note. Chekhov congratulates Sumbatov and his wife (referred to as “the princess,” i.e. Princess Sumbatova) on the holiday (the New Year/Christmas season per the Julian calendar) and tells him he is sending along three small Macbeth-related books ("три макбетистых книжицы") that he had received that same day from Alexei Suvorin, the publisher and Chekhov’s close correspondent/patron. The note is a one-line cover message for the enclosed items rather than a substantive letter.
3 Structure note. This is a single short, coherent letter.