Carl--

Glad you enjoyed my talk.

For those who want to see in detail exactly how my new documentary and 
photographic evidence fit together and place that very issue of Vanity 
Fair within ten paces of a place Twain frequented many times while in 
Carson City (it was as assessable to him as any book in his library in 
later years) I suggest they lay violent hands--or simply purchase--a 
copy of the Spring 2019 Mark Twain Journal which should be arriving in 
mailboxes in the next few weeks. It reproduces the new evidence.

In fact, as Carl knows from seeing my presentation, I even have 
evidence--after enlarging one photograph--that Sam may have been much 
closer than ten paces away from that issue of Vanity Fair.

Unfortunately, my Mark Twain Journal article does not include an account 
of the recurring dream I described in my talk that involves the 
Cartrights, Linda Carter, Sam Clemens, and myself. Only those who saw my 
presentation know how that dream ended, and let's hope it stays that way 
unless I'm called upon to deliver this talk again.

Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB, BSA

You can browse our books at:
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com


------ Original Message ------
From: "Carl J. Chimi" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 5/23/2019 9:00:01 AM
Subject: The Trouble Begins in Hartford - Kevin Mac Donnell

>Yesterday, I made the long drive, about 4 ½ hours, from Pennsylvania to
>Hartford to see Kevin’s presentation on how Sam Clemens found his pen name.
>I moved to PA from Western MA in the early 90s, and my daughter grew up
>about 20 miles north of Hartford, so I used to make that drive almost every
>weekend for years.  It brought back many memories, good and bad, to be
>driving the length of I-84 again.
>
>
>
>I got to the building below the Mark Twain House that serves as a visitors
>center too late to have stopped for a meal, so I was happy to find a light
>dinner was available for attendees.  I was also happy to meet the very
>friendly Steve Courtney and a lady whose name I didn’t get who seemed to be
>running the event.  Both were very welcoming and charming.  I then sat at a
>small table by myself to eat, but was immediately joined by three very
>friendly and lovely ladies.  We had an interesting conversation that started
>with the Columbian Exposition of 1893 (apparently the topic of an earlier
>Trouble Begins lecture they had attended).  One of the ladies said that she
>had attended the 1939 World’s Fair, and I said I’d been to the 1964 World’s
>Fair, and it became a really delightful time.
>
>
>
>Then we were called in for the presentation, and I must say Kevin didn’t
>disappointment.  His topic followed up on his 2012 Mark Twain Journal
>article, in which he pointed out an instance of the term Mark Twain being
>used as a proper name for a comic character in a brief Vanity Fair piece
>from 1861 and argued that Sam Clemens likely got the name from that piece.
>He promised photographic evidence that places Sam Clemens just 10 paces from
>that Vanity Fair; I must say that that promise, coupled with Kevin’s
>astonishing talent for unearthing previously unknown photos and manuscripts,
>made me wonder if I was about to see a photo of Clemens from 1863 in which a
>copy of the magazine could be seen lying on a table nearby.  Nothing so
>direct.  Instead, Kevin used photographs from Carson City of that time,
>along with contemporaneous advertisements, to show that when Clemens was in
>Carson City at various times in the early 1860s, he would have stepped off
>the stage literally right next door to a shop that sold not only tobacco,
>but also magazines.  Those magazines, as Kevin proved using advertisements
>of the specific shop, not only included Vanity Fair, but also back issues.
>Thus, Kevin succeeded in placing Sam Clemens within 10 paces of the shop
>that likely carried the specific issue of the specific humor magazine that
>used Mark Twain as a given name.  Of course, even Kevin acknowledged that we
>don’t yet have direct evidence that shows Clemens reading that specific
>magazine piece and having an as yet uninvented light bulb switch on over his
>head.  But short of that Kevin’s detective work is brilliant, and his
>Columbo-like doggedness may yet find the light bulb moment.
>
>
>
>There is a lot more to Kevin’s argument than I can present here, and he
>presented it in a very entertaining way, with many digressions that
>demonstrated his incredible breadth and depth of Twain knowledge, and with
>lots of humorous ways of making his points.  The guy’s a Texan, and he knows
>how to talk!  And how to tell a story.  All in all, I learned some and I
>enjoyed it all.  Well done, Kevin.
>
>
>
>By the way, the actor who played Sam Clemens on Bonanza was Howard Duff.
>
>
>
>As an aside, I’ve been to the Mark Twain House many times; the first time
>was in late 1972, I think not long after it had opened to the public.  My
>wife and I were there last year, and that was the first time I was ever in
>the building below the House that I’m calling the visitors center because I
>don’t know it’s official name.  I like that building very much.  It’s not
>only well appointed with a beautiful auditorium, it also has a nice bookshop
>and exhibits, and probably other areas of interest I haven’t seen yet.  And
>very helpful people at the information desk.  I also like that it sits below
>the House and allows views of the House from angles I had never seen before.
>
>
>
>I hope to be able to make the long drive again and enjoy many other
>presentations as The Trouble Begins in Hartford.
>
>
>
>Carl
>