Steve and other valued colleagues--

Many years ago--in the 1950s and early 1960s--I grew up in Austin. Its
population then--about 180,000 people--was a fraction of its size today, of
course. In the old days, I could ride my bike from our home in Tarrytown
either out to Lake Austin (a few miles west of where we lived) or all the
way downtown to the Governor's Mansion, where my late mother was then-Gov.
Price Daniel Sr.'s executive assistant. It was a great place to grow up.

I cannot imagine living in Austin now. For instance, I recently checked the
property taxes on the old family home on Bowman Avenue. My parents bought
the lot for $1,500 late in 1950 and built a 1,500 sq. ft. home for $6,000
in 1951. Today, the property taxes on that house are just under $16,000
every year. I understand that Texas has no income tax, but $16 grand/yr.
for property taxes? That's breathtaking, at least for my simple mind.

Kevin MacDonnell's collection of 'Twainiana' sounds truly stunning. All of
us--scholars and everyday Americans--owe him a huge debt for the time and
money he has spent over many years accumulating his collection. *Thank you,
Kevin!*

Best regards. . .and *Hook 'Em, Horns!!!*

Warren


On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 8:25 AM Steve Courtney <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Greetings!
>
> This week the Hartford house provides a real virtual treat for Twainians –
> a tour of Kevin Mac Donnell’s famed Austin, Texas, collection of Twainiana.
> It’s this Wednesday, May 19th, at 5:30 EDT. You can register here<
> https://www.crowdcast.io/e/trouble-macdonnell21> for the free program.
>
> Kevin has a collection of over 9,000 Twain-related objects and loves to
> share their tales. His books include first editions of Twain’s writings and
> books owned by Samuel Clemens and his family. Personal photographs and
> letters documenting the Clemenses’ lives are accompanied by personal
> artifacts such as a Chippendale desk, silverware, and opera glasses.. Kevin
> will show us some of the highlights from his collection, share how he cares
> for his collection, and talk about how his collection is used for research.
>
> Kevin’s bio: A leading Mark Twain scholar and collector of books and
> memorabilia; co-edited (with Alan Gribben) Mark Twain’s Rubaiyat (1983);
> contributed articles to the Mark Twain Encyclopedia (1993); co-edited (with
> R. Kent Rasmussen) Mark Twain and Youth (2016).  He has reviewed more than
> 50 books for the Mark Twain Forum. His work on a new  source for Twain’s
> nom de plume went viral on Salon.com and The Huffington Post, and was cited
> as “research of note” by The Chronicle of Higher Education. He was chosen
> as a Mark Twain Legacy Scholar by the Mark Twain Journal in 2016. His
> collection is the largest in private hands,and is frequently shared with
> other scholars and museums.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Steve
>
> Steve Courtney, Curatorial Volunteer
> The Mark Twain House & Museum
> 351 Farmington Avenue
> Hartford, Connecticut 06105
> 860-302-8969
>