1601! As always, I researched O'Brien's personal life and educational
background, and selected Twain works that seemed like a good fit. The
folks at the Kennedy Center then asked if there were other options. I
half-jokingly replied that "you can never go wrong with a fart joke" and
suggested the 1920 Merle Johnson edition of 1601, which was printed on
handmade paper with facsimiles of the 1880 proof and the 1882 West Point
edition. They selected that over my other suggestion, so it was put into
a handsome custom clamshell case for presentation.
I'm flattered by the positive responses to my talk. I was speaking to a
group of sophisticated bibliophiles who were quite familiar with the
(dead) collectors I included in my slide show, but not necessarily with
Twain. They are book-collectors, but like many book-collectors, many of
them also collect letters, mss, photos, relics, and related materials.
So, I included those kinds of materials in my talk, which aimed at
showing when and how these items ended up in the market and encouraged
collecting, and then explained when and how Twain--at least in the minds
of book-collectors--gradually moved from being a mere funny man to
acceptance as a member of the American literary canon.
In the middle of my talk I shamelessly took a couple of minutes to talk
about my biography of George Griffin, which is more than three times the
length of the version that appeared in the Mark Twain Journal, with lots
of additional factual information, much more context, and over 400
citations. My literary agent is hard at work, but amongst the members of
the Grolier Club you never know who might have connections with a
commercial publisher. Griffin's life (and his after-life as Jim) deserve
to be known to the widest audience possible. He was, as Twain said, a
remarkable man by any measure.
If any of you find yourself in NYC, give the club a call, and go see the
exhibit. The items on display are from the library of Susan Tane, a
long-time friend and customer, with some additions from the Berg
collection at NYPL. Mark Dawidziak will be at the club performing as
Mark Twain tomorrow night at 6 PM. Visit the Grolier Club website for
more info.
Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
You can browse our books at:
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
------ Original Message ------
From: "Barbara Schmidt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 3/31/2025 8:44:39 AM
Subject: Re: An Illustrated History of Mark Twain Collecting
>I just had a chance to watch this video last night. Only Kevin Mac
>Donnell could present such a fact-filled and stunning presentation. We
>are all truly blessed to have his friendship and willingness to share
>his knowledge. I am so looking forward to reading his George Griffin
>biography -- as well as anything else he writes. His Grolier club book
>A FIRST CLASS FOOL is now shipping from amazon.
>
>Only one question after watching the video -- just which Mark Twain
>book did Kevin select for Conan O'Brien's Kennedy Center presentation?
>
>Barb
>
>On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 3:18 PM Kevin Mac Donnell
><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>For those who might find this of interest, here's a link to the
>>one-hour
>>slide show I presented at the Grolier Club in NYC last week:
>>
>>https://www.youtube.com/live/Mx4Wod9SkkI
>>
>>To get the video started you have to slide that little button at the
>>bottom-left over to the 4:45 minute mark.
>>
>>It's 58 minutes long, followed by a 30 minute Q&A.
>>
>>This was presented to an astute audience of well-read seasoned book
>>collectors (not necessarily Twainians) who were already familiar with
>>the various collectors that I talk about, and it was presented in a
>>room
>>where the audience had just viewed more than 100 items on display from
>>the collection of Susan Tane, one of my fellow Grolier Club members.
>>
>>Kevin
>>@
>>Mac Donnell Rare Books
>>9307 Glenlake Drive
>>Austin TX 78730
>>512-345-4139 <tel:512-345-4139>
>>
>>You can browse our books at:
>>www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
|
