I've conducted a systematic search in all of the logical places for each
recording event for which I could find any information, and this has led me
down a lot of rabbit-holes, into numerous archives, and ultimately to
deadends. The loose ends that are left are so loose I've not bothered to
spend the time or money pursuing them. All of the recordings I can document
involved wax cylinders and these were probably lost or destroyed during his
life or shortly after.
Gillette performed his imitation of Twain in front of Twain and had Twain's
approval. Hal Holbrook copied Gillette's recording and interviewed many
people who knew Twain (Lyon, Pond Jr, Clara, and many others less
well-known) and Clara herself gave Hal her stamp of approval. I think the
voice you are after hovers somewhere between Gillette and Holbrook.
But good luck with a reward. I think you'd get a lot of people chasing their
tails over the Gillette recordings and a lot more people with no idea where
to look or even how to recover a sound from a wax cylinder (if you play them
like other cylinders you destroy what's on them). But you never know!
Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB
*************************
You may browse our books at
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rod Rawlings" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 1:40 PM
Subject: Re: Mark Twain's Voice
> Thank you, Kevin, for your responses to my question about authentication.
>
> The several written descriptions of Twain's voice I've read, including
> his own, do not assemble into one recognizable model. Some depict his
> long-talk style as bothersome, nearly intolerable, others think it
> charming. Some say he mumbles and then that he sounds strong and
> clear. A deep voice that sings soprano? A southern twang with a
> western lilt and a Yankee clip? And while it is tantalizing hearing
> the 1934 recording of William Gillette imitating Mark Twain imitating
> the garrulous old fictional character, Simon Wheeler, it is three
> times removed -- too much of a stretch.
>
> You asked why I asked the authentication question. It was to find the
> answer (Yes), to find if anyone cared enough to answer (Yes, you!), to
> find if the general acceptance of there being no surviving recording
> is due to some systematic or directed search around Europe and the
> English-speaking world that turned up nothing (No, apparently), and
> finally to rattle the silence a bit regarding his missing voice.
>
> Being able to authenticate a Twain voice recording is necessary to
> permit offering a reward to the discoverer. If a reward is
> sufficiently enticing and well publicized, for quite some time it
> could put hundreds of hands to work around the globe hoping to earn
> the bounty.
>
> Given Twain's celebrity and his frequent speechifying during a time of
> new recording technology, chance would credibly allow the survival of
> the random unmarked box of wax cylinders in a dark corner of some
> forgotten attic. Example: German Chancellor Otto von Bismark's voice
> recording from the 1880s that was found behind Thomas Edison's desk
> and played about 120 years later. We are past the century mark for the
> age of any Twain recording, so searching sooner is better than later.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 9:56 AM, Dave Davis <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>> If anyone ever finds this "Holy Grail" of Twain studies, it will be
>> Kevin,
>> I predict.
>>
>> And, whoever does find it -- if ever such a thing is found -- will be on
>> the front page of the NYT and the WSJ.
>>
>> DDD
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 9:34 AM, Kevin Mac Donnell <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> I've spent hours and hours researching this subject over the last thirty
>>> years. I've found quite a few times when Twain was recorded --twice as
>>> many
>>> as are generally known-- and spent many more hours (and money) trying to
>>> track down those recordings in archives and among descendants of those
>>> involved in the recordings. There are still loose ends (in the US and
>>> Europe) and I will probably put it into an article eventually, so, no,
>>> I'm
>>> not inclined to give away my research. Sorry. I do wish you luck with
>>> whatever that "something" is that you are working on!
>>>
>>> Kevin
>>> @
>>> Mac Donnell Rare Books
>>> 9307 Glenlake Drive
>>> Austin TX 78730
>>> 512-345-4139
>>> Member: ABAA, ILAB
>>> *************************
>>>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Rod Rawlings
> 941-713-4446 Direct
> MarkTwainPerforms.com
>
>
>
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