Thursday, July 10, 2008

Mark Twain's possessions






The other really special thing about the exhibit upstairs at the Mark Twain Museum was the fact that Mark Twain's actual possessions were on display!  There's the musical instrument, similar to an organ, which he designed himself, a cast of his hand, his top hat, and, sadly, a cast of his young son's face.  This was made after Langdon, his son, died at 19 months old.  Also on display was Twain's pipe and a typewriter similar to the one that Twain would have used.  Mark Twain claims to be the first American author to submit a typed manuscript to his publisher, so even though the typewriter on display was not in fact his, it represents the significance of the typewriter in Twain's life.  


1 comment:

Sarge said...

The top hat was awesome.

I didn't know he had a son who had died. Not to psychoanalyze that in a way that's insulting, but it didn't surprise me on reflection.