Arianne,


   Thanks!  I sent a note to Beth Dominianni, director of the Mark Twain
Library in Redding and got this prompt response:

"In answer to your question:  The statuette you saw was designed by Walter
Russell as a model for a monument to be erected at Hannibal, Missouri.  In
the late 1920s Russell was appointed by the Mark Twain Centennial
Commission of Hannibal to do a sculpture  to be ready for 1935.    The
depression interfered and the monument was not built.   I don’t have
information on exactly what year the statuette model was created.  But it
was done by Russell and we are fortunate to own it."

   Congratulations on nailing the Russell connection. Maybe future
Twainians will find the resources to create this monument in Hannibal for
the Twain Bicentennial. Something to think about....


Terry




On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 7:45 PM, Arianne <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> What a delightful account!  I enjoyed taking the trip with you.  Also loved
> looking through your photos, especially when I spotted the Sculpture of
> Mark Twain surrounded by his characters.  Where was it?  I think it was
> done by Walter Russell who I learned about because he did the bust the
> Sacramento Union had in its lobby until it closed.  THAT bust now resides
> in a library at
> UC Davis.  Turns out Mr. Russell was a man of many parts who, had they met,
> would probably have been one of Mark Twain's friends.  Learning about
> Russell was one of the side benefits of what I learned preparing for a talk
> I gave a month or so ago about the beneficial consequences MT got from
> being hired by the Sacramento Union to write travel letters from Hawaii.
>
> THANKS
> Arianne Laidlaw
> in Sacramento
>
>
>
> > Terry Ballard
> > Author and Leisure Studies Manager
> > http://www.terryballard.org
> > Author of the book "Google this"
> > http://googlethis.com<http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>
> >
> > "My memory has a mind of its own."
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Arianne Laidlaw A '58
>



-- 


Terry Ballard
Author and Leisure Studies Manager
http://www.terryballard.org
Author of the book "Google this"
http://googlethis.com<http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>

"My memory has a mind of its own."