Felix Kraemer patented a two-seat piano stool in 1890. 

Dennis Kelly



> On Nov 20, 2017, at 7:02 PM, Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Aschermann registered Mark Twain Cigars on July 1, 1877. I've found nothing 
> to indicate that he paid Twain anything or that Twain even even knew of him. 
> He produced cigars (I have one of his cigar boxes, perhaps the only example 
> that survives), a trade card, and a small oblong poster, plus the two pieces 
> of sheet music. I've played the waltz, but not the mazurka. The waltz isn't 
> bad, but it ain't Chopin. Based on slim evidence, his cigars seemed to have 
> been sold mostly in the midwest.
> 
> Aschermann's are the earliest Mark Twain Cigars I have found, and he was 
> followed by many others. I have examples of all of the other boxes and 
> advertising cards by other makers. Just to avoid confusion, the Mark Twain 
> Cigar box and labels and signs you usually see (Known to Everyone, Liked by 
> All) was much later. The designs were proofed in 1913, the cigars were being 
> advertised for sale by March, 1916, but that brand was not registered until 
> 1931. The factory that made their labels and bands shut down ca. 1950, but 
> production of the cigars may have ended earlier.
> 
> Kevin
> @
> Mac Donnell Rare Books
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> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Peter Salwen
> Sent: Monday, November 20, 2017 5:08 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Here's a curiosity
> 
> I just stumbled across these two oddities from around 1880 at the Library
> of Congress website: "Mark Twain Mazurka" and "Mark Twain Waltz," published
> by Wm. Rohlfing & Co., composed by respectively Felix Kraemer and "X.Y.Z."
> and allegedly "dedicated" to Messrs Edw. Aschermann & Co., manufacturers of
> the celebrated Mark Twain cigars. The covers are illustrated with what I
> take to be advertising or packaging graphics for the cigars. Does anyone
> know the story about this stuff? For example, did MT get paid for the use
> of his name?
> 
> For anyone who wants a closer look, here are the links:
> 
> https://www.loc.gov/resource/sm1880.15910.0?st=gallery
> 
> https://www.loc.gov/resource/sm1880.15909.0?q=mark+twain&st=gallery
> 
> -- Pete Salwen