In fairness, your book's caption for the picture does not actually specify which girl is which.  It only identifies them as Susy and Clara, in that order.  But, given the composition of the photograph, it would not be a farfetched inference to draw that Suzy is the foreground girl on the left, and Clara in the background on the right.  The other book that published that picture (the title of which escapes me) does identify them in that way, if I recall correctly.

And that's exactly what I suspect they ain't.  It bothered me from the first time I saw the picture in the other book.

But I'm willing to admit I'm wrong.  I'm more curious as to how (short of there being verifiable contemporaneous written identifications of reasonable provenance) any modern person could authoritatively identify those two girls as Clara and Susy, and which is which.

I guess it's these really, really small insignificant mysteries that make scholars, eh?  😀 

Regards,

Carl

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve Courtney
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2016 9:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Photo of Susie and Clara

Carl, that's in the Mark Twain House collection but I won't be there to che= ck till next Wednesday -- I've labeled it as being one of the 1890 Onteora = Park pix, and must (I hope) have had some solid basis for doing that. Stay = tuned.=0A= =0A= From the work Tracy Brindle (MT House Chief Curator), Mallory Howard (her p= artner in crime) and I did early this year in preparation for the "In His F= ather's Image" exhibition at the MT House that's running currently -- an ex= ploration of the three daughters and their lives -- I'd say almost certainl= y that Clara is in the front, with the expression you describe, and Susy --=  likewise -- is in the back.=0A= =0A= Best,=0A= Steve=0A= =0A= =0A= Steve Courtney=0A= Special Projects=0A= The Mark Twain House & Museum=0A=
351 Farmington Avenue=0A=
Hartford, Connecticut 06105=0A=
860-302-8969=0A=
=0A=
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________________________________________=0A=
From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Carl J. Chimi [cchim= [log in to unmask]]=0A=
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2016 5:29 PM=0A=
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Photo of Susie and Clara=0A= =0A= You're certainly right, Barbara. I've seen many photos reproduced in=0A= reverse, or misidentified.  I didn't have this before me when I wrote the= =0A= original post, but the picture can be found in Steve Courtney's delightful= =0A= book "'The Loveliest House That Ever Was'" on page 119.  I've also seen it= =0A= in one other book I've read within the last decade, but I can't remember=0A= which book.=0A= =0A= The girl I think is Clara has a slightly mischievous look about her that I= =0A= associate with young Clara's personality.  The other girl has a sadness in= =0A= her eyes that I associate with Susie, especially around the time of her Bry= n=0A= Mawr days; she also bears a resemblance to pictures of the young Sam=0A= Clemens.=0A= =0A= Carl=0A= =0A= -----Original Message-----=0A=
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Barbara=0A= Schmidt=0A=
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2016 4:55 PM=0A=
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Photo of Susie and Clara=0A= =0A= Carl,=0A= =0A= I do not  have that photo in front of me at the moment, but from your=0A= description, I seem to recall it was taken at Quarry Farm.  I think=0A= sometimes part of the confusion in photo identification comes when photos= =0A= are reprinted from negatives/plates and are unintentionally "reversed" or= =0A= "flipped."  Without knowing who holds the original print or negative of thi= s=0A= photo, it may be difficult to correctly pin down the person on the left or= =0A= right in the frame and then determine if subsequent reprintings are=0A= identified correctly.=0A= =0A= Barb=0A=