Shipping deceased U.S. citizens back to the States can't have been that 
difficult, or maybe it depended more on regulations in the respective 
countries -- between ca. 1890 and the First World War, there were more 
American consular offices f. i. in Germany than at any other time in 
U.S. history. Freiburg had one. I did some research on how the consul at 
the time, Theophilus Liefeld, helped Cora Crane to get the mortal 
remains of Stephen back to the U.S. Funeral parlors especially in places 
with a lot of tourist trade also specialised in embalming and shipping. 
The only time Stephen Crane came to Freiburg, it was feet first.

best

Wolfgang

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hochbruck
Department of English /
Centre for Security and Society
Albert Ludwigs University
15 Rempart St.
D- 79098 Freiburg

Am 30.12.2021 um 04:00 schrieb Scott Holmes:
> I recall some mention of possible difficulties in returning Livy's 
> body to the United States from Italy.  I have been unable to find a 
> reference to the American ambassador, or someone of near his rank, 
> clearing the way to ship her body as proper documentation had not been 
> obtained.  The remark that recurs in my mind is that such clearance 
> was given because of Mark Twain's celebrity and that an ordinary 
> person would have been stymied  and unable to send a body home again.
>
> The only reference to bureaucratic interference in Livy's death that I 
> have been able to find is a mention in Day by Day "FLORENCE, June 7.—A 
> funeral service of the simplest character took place over the body of 
> Mrs. Samuel L. Clemens in the Villa Quarto to-day after a vexatious 
> visit from sanitary officers and compliance with annoying regulations. 
> Only members of the family were present."  There was no reference to 
> this comment other than MTP.
>
> I'm working on an essay touching on Twain's relationship with 
> bureaucracies and this instance seems an important encounter. There 
> are many others but this one is what prompted me to consider this 
> question.