Mark Twain Library Auction - Tuesday, April 10th-- 1 and 7:30 P.M. 2005 North La Brea Avenue. E. F. Whitman, Mgr. F. B. O'Connor, Auctioneer

TWAIN, Mark [CLEMENS, Samuel]

Published by E.F. Whitman, Mgr. [and]F.B. O'Connor, Auctioneer, [Los Angeles], 1951

About this Item

Broadside. Tall narrow cream-colored folio sheet, printed both sides. Very good or better with three toned horizontal creases and a single pencil mark next to one item. A list of books from Mark Twain's second personal library auction (the first was in 1911) owned by Clara Samossoud, Twain's last surviving daughter, and held in Los Angeles on April 10th, 1951. The auction was necessary to offset the gambling debts of her second husband, Jacques Samossoud. While a loving husband, his financial investments had proved disastrous and his losses at the horse track began to outpace Clara's estate income, forcing the couple to sell their Hollywood home and with it, the remainder of the Twain Library. The auction list is divided into six sections: "Personal Notation and Marginal Notes," "Autographed by S.L. Clemens" (in two parts), "Autographed by Mark Twain," "[Books of] Jean Clemens, Clara Clemens - Children," "Signature of Olivia K. Clemens," and "Memos, Letters, Clippings and Other Papers of Interest," plus a note promising a "Balance of Unlisted Books to Follow." Highlights among the lots include: an inscribed copy of the *Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant*; Twain's personal signed copies of *The Celebrated Jumping Frog*, *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court*, and *The Prince and the Pauper*; and two unpublished manuscripts: a story entitled, "An Incident" and a poem ("In Memoriam to Olivia Susan Clemens") misleadingly noted as his "Only Known Poem." A compelling and rare catalog of the remaining library of one of America's great authors and a sad denouement of his last surviving daughter. *OCLC* locates only four copies over two records.

Seller Inventory # 584038

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mark Twain Library Auction - Tuesday, April 10th-- 1 and 7:30 P.M. 2005 North La Brea Avenue. E. F. Whitman, Mgr. F. B. O'Connor, Auctioneer
• Publisher: E.F. Whitman, Mgr. [and]F.B. O'Connor, Auctioneer, [Los Angeles]
• Publication Date: 1951
• Binding: Softcover
• Condition: Very Good