Kevin Mac Donnell, a rare bookseller in Austin, Texas, safeguards over 8000 Twain-related items in a climate-controlled home archive.
1. A PICTURE OF MARK TWAIN’S POTENTIAL TEENAGE SWEETHEART
One of Mac Donnell ’s most intriguing finds surfaced at an antique marketplace in Washington state . The 1855 daguerreotype render a teenage fille named Iowa Burns , who had once live in Keokuk , Iowa . Scrawled phrases along the daguerreotype ’s corners take “ sweet sixteen , " " Iowa Burns , " " Keokuk Iowa , " and " taken 1855 Mark Twain ’s sweetie . ” Pinned to the hinged panel opposite the portrait was a flimsy spell of paper , which said “ Minnie Albert ’s sis Iowa Burns — smasher of Mark Twain . " Also tucked inside the daguerreotype ’s case was a note , which say : " In 1855 Iowa Burns at ' sweet sixteen ' a sweetheart of Mark Twain who lived across the street from her parent at Keokuk Iowa . Taken in 1855 , a sister of my aunty Minnie Burns Albert , married woman of T. G. Albert , Salem . "
“ The name Iowa Burns jumped out at me because I knew Twain had known a girl in Keokuk , Iowa , with the same name , ” Mac Donnell says . “ He ’d written a verse form and used her name to make a punning , so he clearly make out this girl and spent a lot of time with her . ”
Additional enquiry revealed that Twain ’s brother , Orion Clemens , had conducted business with Iowa ’s Church Father , which explain how Twain and Iowa might have ab initio become acquainted . After swarm through Twain ’s notebooks and compare his descriptions of Iowa to the daguerreotype , Mac Donnell reason that the girl in the picture was indeed “ a mixed-up ravisher . She was [ Twain ’s ] first grownup girlfriend . ”
2. A LETTER MARK TWAIN WROTE TO A 12-YEAR-OLD FAN
In 1902 , 12 - class - old Gertrude Swain from Greeley , Nebraska , “ wrote Twain a fan letter saying that she had readHuck Finn[about 50 multiplication ] , and she had read in the newspaper about some curate who were denouncing the book , saying it was n’t a good book for child and wickedness and all that , ” Mac Donnell says . “ She wrote Twain a alphabetic character enjoin , ‘ I call back they do n’t infer your work ' … It was an unabashed fan missive , and rather perceptive . Twain wrote her back . ”
Twain ’s alphabetic character reads :
3. A CEREMONIAL SILVER KEY (WITH A PIECE OF TWAIN’S HAIR STUCK IN ITS RIBBON)
In September 1900 , Twain participated in an opening ceremonial at the brand - new Kensal Rise Library in London . On this affair , officials “ pass on him a special etch key , ” Mac Donnell says . “ The type is lined in velvet and silk . One of Twain ’s white pilus is [ still ] tangle in the red medal . ”
“ When they hung the key fruit around his neck I assume the hair got on the medal and then later on he take in the keystone off and put it back in the showcase , ” Mac Donnell add together . “ That ’s probably where it stayed all those years . I hold open trying to keep that white hair there , and I at last in reality wind it and slipped it into the ribbon — curl it through the ribbon a couple times just to make certain it stayed there . ”
4. A BOOK INSCRIBED TO TWAIN’S DAUGHTER, CLARA, BY HER BELOVED CAT BAMBINO
5. A MAGAZINE ARTICLE THAT MIGHT HAVE INSPIRED THE ‘MARK TWAIN’ PSEUDONYM
Many scholars think that Twain — who was accept Samuel Langhorne Clemens — embrace his pseudonym from riverboat lingo , with “ Mark Twain ” signify the lower limit water depth needed for a boat to cruise safely . As a young man , Clemens knew a captain named Isaiah Sellers who reportedly go by this sobriquet . Later in life , the writer claimed to have take over the nostalgic name for himself after Sellers ’s end in 1863 .
Mac Donnell , however , says this explanation is bunk . While reading a democratic 19th century humor journal calledVanity Fair(unrelated to today ’s magazine of the same name ) , he noticed that the name Mark Twain had been used by a humourist named Artemus Ward in an 1861 sketch called “ The North Star . ” This piece was publish just two years before Clemens adopted the name for himself .
Twain readVanity Fairand often “ copied [ Ward ] in his own humor , ” Mac Donnell say . For this rationality , he believe that Twain borrowed hisnom de plumefrom the magazine instead of simply stealing it from a riverboat captain . Supporting Mac Donnell ’s theory is the fact that Sellers choke after Twain adopted the name , not before . Twain credibly excogitate the riverboat captain story to obscure the dead on target origins of his pseudonym , Mac Donnell guesses .
6. A BOOK TWAIN GAVE TO ONE OF HIS REAL-LIFE LITERARY INFLUENCES
“ One of the dependable thing in my appeal isThe Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant[1885 ] , which Twain publish and edit , ” Mac Donnell aver . “ It ’s inscribe by Twain to a guy identify John T. Lewis , who was a black man who live in Elmira , New York . He ’s wide count to be one of three opprobrious humans in Twain ’s life who served as a model for the reference Jim inHuckleberry Finn . ”
harmonise to Mac Donnell , “ Twain look up to Lewis tremendously because he was a pretty smart guy wire . " Plus , the writer was personally beholden to Lewis , as he ’d once rescued members of Twain ’s extended family from a deadly runaway carriage .
The above image shows the book Twain inscribed to Lewis ( odd ) , next to a second fabric - bound written matter ( right ) .
7. TWAIN’S NOTE-FILLED SHORT STORY BOOK
Sketches New and Oldis a collection of Twain ’s short stories , published in 1875 . This first - edition printing was Twain ’s own personal written matter , which he translate from while on lecture tours . The al-Qur’an ’s lines and margins are take with Twain ’s own handwriting . “ He queer out words , substitutes words , crosses out some passages , emphasise thing , ” Mac Donnell say . " At the starting time of one story , he wrote down ‘ 20 minute ’ to cue himself how long it would take him to show that especial story when he was out on the lecture circumference . ”
Twain also made the occasional chastening , Mac Donnell points out . In one sketch , “ there ’s an editor of a newsprint that Twain descried as a bray insect , " he read . " Now if you think about that , it makes no good sense . insect do n’t bray . What bray ? A Equus asinus . Except Twain would n’t have order donkey . He think of ‘ jackass . ’ ”
pair ’s publisher in all likelihood never would have allowed the wordjackassto come out in print , so the author change it to a less offensive word . But when Twain prepared to understand the sketch out loud on tour , he crossed outinsectand replaced it with his initial insult . “ He ’s not modify the text , he ’s restoring his original text edition , ” Mac Donnell says .
8. THE TOP OF TWAIN’S CARD TABLE
Twain owned a poster table at his last nursing home , Stormfield in Redding , Connecticut , where he live until his death in 1910 . During this period of his lifetime , the author had just one surviving tiddler , Clara , since his oldest daughter , Susie , had go from spinal meningitis in 1896 . The solitary widowman also had no grandchildren , so he adopted a group of foster granddaughter he dub “ holy person - Pisces the Fishes . ” He often engaged these minor in game group lineup games , fit in to Mac Donnell .
