Here is a picture of me playing the piano. I have always been a talented pianist and have enjoyed it as a hobby. In this picture you can see my older sister Pamela, on my left and my daughter Clara on the right. When it comes to musical preference I am very fond of negro spirituals and minstrel tunes. I play the piano as often as I can because it calms me down and it helps my mind wander.
This note I wrote is a letter to my wife, thanking her for being born and being a part of my life. I have written thousands of letters to many people but I sent most of the letters to my family. I hold a lot of emotion and many times that I have written letters or notes I have kept them to myself. They have only been found after my death.
This picture is of my childhood home in Hannibal, Missouri. I always loved this house and I even based my two books off of this town, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Here I grew up with my siblings and my parents before my father passed away when I was 13 years old. In this town I had my first printing press job. I came back in my twenties and started an internship to become a steamboat captain.
In my adult life I ended up settling in Elmira, at the home of my in-laws. I was very close to Quarry Farm which I often found myself strolling to now and then. I love the solitude it brought to me because I was able to write and smoke my pipe in peace.
This is the remnants of the gun that I supposedly dueled with in 1864. I find it rather ridiculous that such a rumor be started but such as life. People say I challenged a rival editor and was being prosecuted for violating the territory law against dueling.
This is a portrait of me when I was around 13 years old. This picture was done only a few months before my father passed away. When I was a boy I was always active and running around with my friends. You could find me by the river or running around the town. My childhood was pretty great even though my family struggled financially.
This is a copy of the first book I ever wrote. Only 1000 copies were ever made with blue cloth and the frog on the front cover. I wanted my first ever book to be presented to my mother in a nice fashion. After a while this sort of print became too expensive and we went to regular styles.
Life on The Mississippi is the first ever book to have been submitted to a publisher typewritten. I can say that this was one of my most proud moments as a writer. The first copy was first ever ringed and published in the UK but many people like to believe that the U.S. version counted as the first because I am a U.S. writer.
This is an expert from one of the leather bound notebooks that I keep annually. Only four of these books are still in good shape and can be seen by the public. I wrote letters in these notebooks as well as novel ideas and scribbles.
December 1905 was the day I met the most beautiful woman in the world. It was the New York City chapter of the society of managers when she walked in and completely took my breath away. People said I turned white as a ghost when Joan of Arc walked in with her short hair and beautiful dress. She captivated me and inspired much of my writing from that day forth.
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- "Mark Twain's New York." Walking Tour. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
- "Stepping into the Mark Twain Study in Elmira, NY." The Constant Rambler. N.p., 25 Apr. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
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- PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
- "THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG OF CALAVERAS ..." THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG OF CALAVERAS COUNTY, AND OTHER SKETCHES by TWAIN, Mark [CLEMENS, Samuel]: C. H. Webb Hardcover, First Edition. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
- "Collecting Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi - The Lit Witch." The Lit Witch. N.p., 21 June 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
- "The Mark Twain Project Stretches out." 01.22.2009 -. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
- "The Riddle Of Mark Twain's Passion For Joan Of Arc." The Awl The Riddle Of Mark Twains Passion For Joan Of Arc Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
