BOOK REVIEW

_Mark Twain in Elmira_, Second Edition. Edited by Robert D. Jerome, Herbert
A. Wisbey, Jr., and Barbara E. Snedecor. Elmira College Center for Mark
Twain Studies, 2013, pp. 378, illustrations, index. Paper 5-1/2" x 8-1/2".
$20. ISBN 978-0-578-12626-5.

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Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by
M. L. Christmas

Copyright (c) 2013 Mark Twain Forum. This review may not be published or
redistributed in any medium without permission.

In 1977 the Mark Twain Society of Elmira, New York, published _Mark Twain in
Elmira_, edited by Robert D. Jerome and Herbert A. Wisbey, Jr. The volume
was a hardcover compendium of "All Things Mark Twain in the Queen City." The
1977 edition enjoyed a fourth printing in 1985, in commemoration of the
150th anniversary of Mark Twain's birth. How appropriate that the book was
recently updated, in softcover, by the Elmira College Center for Mark Twain
Studies--just in time for this year's conference in August with its theme of
"Observing the Sesquicentennial of the Pen-name, _Mark Twain_."

Copies of the 2013 second edition were distributed in the welcome packets
for Elmira conference attendees. The introduction notes the intentionality
of the timing and the efforts made in attaining that goal. The editor of
this second edition, Barbara E. Snedecor, Director of the Center for Mark
Twain Studies, also touches on the similarities and differences between this
edition and its predecessor:

"This edition includes all content from the previous edition. It also offers
a collection of new pieces selected by Dr. Herbert A. Wisbey, Jr., and
Robert D. Jerome for inclusion in a future edition. These additional essays
are contained in [the new] Chapters Ten Through Twelve; most of them were
published previously in the _Mark Twain Society Bulletin_." (xii)

For those on the Forum not familiar with the Elmira historians known fondly
and collectively as "Jerome & Wisbey," here are a few bibliographic and
biographical details. Apart from _Mark Twain in Elmira_ (1977), Robert
Jerome and Herbert Wisbey were also contributors to _Mark Twain's Elmira,
1870-1910_ (Chemung County Historical Society, Inc., 1985), and for at least
20 years were co-editors of the _Mark Twain Society Bulletin_. Local Elmira
businessman Robert Jerome was a graduate of the Elmira Free Academy and of
Cornell University. Herbert Wisbey was Professor of History at Elmira
College, Elmira College Archivist, and in 1983 he became the founding
director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies. Both men were tireless
supporters of Mark Twain scholarship and promoters of Elmira community
pride.

The 1977 edition of _Mark Twain in Elmira_ was a compilation of essays about
Samuel L. Clemens and his circle of family, friends, and associates in
Elmira, tied together with narrative paragraphs from the editors and rounded
out with a number of illustrations. The 2013 edition adds new material that
contains a few overlaps with the original first edition, as conceded by the
editors themselves (ix); but "we hope that the value of preserving the
integrity of the original material will outweigh the sacrifice in
readability" (x). It does indeed.

The new Table of Contents is essentially identical to Jerome & Wisbey's
original, with the exception of the new chapters. At the other end of the
book, the Index has been expanded. Previous entries for persons with
multiple pages such as the Rev. Thomas K. Beecher, Susan Crane, and Katy
Leary now have textual descriptors to accompany many of those page numbers.
The Index could yet be expanded further in future editions. For instance,
the new edition contains no index entries for John A. Quarles or for the
three mentions of Elmira College founder Simeon Benjamin. However, the
effort in making the new index more reader-friendly proves to be a
successful endeavor.

The one thing that disappoints this reviewer about the 2013 edition--in an
otherwise information-packed and valuable reference work--is its lack of a
List of Illustrations. The original edition contained such a list. The new
edition, by quick count, has 107 photos and illustrations; the original had
63; for a net difference, ironically enough, of a Twainy 44. Not all of the
first edition's photos and illustrations appear in the updated book, despite
the previously cited statement that the current edition "includes all
content from the previous edition." Content? Yes. Illustrations? Not
necessarily. Missing from the 2013 edition is the sobering and strategically
placed 1967 black-and-white photo of Langdon Plaza. Also missing is an
interior photo of Park Street Church and a portrait of Julia Beecher.
However, the photos in the new edition are choice selections in their own
right. These include a set of attractive black-and-white photos of Quarry
Farm--not only the traditional, interior, downstairs views, but also some
unexpected glimpses of rooms upstairs. The vintage illustrations used to
correlate Quarry Farm's architecture and landscaping with the 19th-century
Aesthetic Movement, and the concept of the "ferme ornée," are particularly
meaningful to anyone who has ever attended an Elmira conference or been a
recipient of a Quarry Farm Research Fellowship.

New material from the _Mark Twain Society Bulletin_ for this 2013 edition
are essays about Theodore Crane, Katie Leary, Auntie Cord, John T. Lewis,
Ernest Koppe, and the Quarry Farm cats. "The Wedding of Mark Twain,"
originally written by Mary Mason Fairbanks for the Cleveland _Daily Herald_,
and "The Tragic Story of Emma Nye" are further selections drawn from the
Mark Twain Society’s newsletter. One is even treated to the full text of
_"Love to All the Jolly Household": A Study of the Cranes of Quarry Farm,
Their Lives, and Their Relationships with Mark Twain_, the 1991 Master's
thesis of Gretchen Sharlow, Director Emerita of the Center for Mark Twain
Studies. It was described by the late Darryl Baskin, former Center Director,
as an outstanding thesis of great interest to scholars.

The new essay selections drawn from other sources are: "How Mark Twain
Traveled Between Hartford and Elmira," by railroad executive Jervis Landon,
Jr., the great-grandson of Mark Twain's father-in-law; "Renovations at
Quarry Farm," from the unpublished diary of Jervis Langdon, Sr., transcribed
in 2004; "A Study of the 'Picturesque,'" about the aesthetics of Quarry
Farm's landscaping and architecture; and the concluding piece: "'He Was So
Rarely Beautiful': Langdon Clemens," by Barbara E. Snedecor, that originally
appeared in _American Literary Realism_, Fall 2012, Vol. 45, No. 1.

There are some typographical glitches in the new edition which will be
corrected in future printings. Those who were given the volume at the 2013
conference will be receiving from the Center, by e-mail, a selective
errata-list, and the full list of known errata will be made available on the
Center's website in the near future.

At the present time, the 2013 edition of _Mark Twain in Elmira_ is only
available through the Elmira Center for Mark Twain Studies.

To order:

By phone: Credit card orders can be placed by calling the Center, during
regular business hours, at (607) 735-1941.

Mail check for $20 per book (plus shipping) to: The Center for Mark Twain
Studies, Elmira College, One Park Place, Elmira, NY 14905. Checks should be
made payable to the Center for Mark Twain Studies.

Shipping (1 book):
Media mail (U.S.): $2.98, approx. delivery time of approx. one week.
First-class mail (U.S.): $6.98, approx. 3-5 business days.
International mail: $18.60.
(For shipping rates in greater quantities or to other destinations, please
inquire.)

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ABOUT THE REVIEWER: M. L. Christmas, M.S.M., is a freelance writer/editor.
This is her twelfth review for the Mark Twain Forum.