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Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]>
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From:
"Kevin. Mac Donnell" <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:25:20 -0600
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Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]>
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It's a rare book. The edition was just 500 copies if I recall correctly, and
most were sold quickly to libraries. Ex-library copies pop up now and then,
but it has become very difficult to find. This two volume set was fetching
over $200 when I last sold a copy a few years ago (not an ex-library set).
If I knew where any could be found at this very moment I'd by them myself
and try to fill the more than a dozen back-orders I have for it.

A new edition may appear "soon" with updated information for many of the
books Twain owned, and listings for new books from Twain's library that have
surfaced during the last 27 years. In the 1980 edition just five of the
books listed were books from Twain's library that I owned. The new edition
will list over 125 books (totalling 180 volumes) that I now own.

An astonishing percentage of the books listed in 1980 have changed ownership
in the last three decades, most by public auction or private sale (and many
have changed hands several times by both means), one large group (Katy
Leary's 89 volumes) was donated to a library (Elmira), another 60 were sold
by a library (Doheny), one group of about 100 from Clara's 1951 Hollywood
sale surfaced (stored in wooden barrels) a few years ago and were sold at
auction and are now at Hartford, and a large number of volumes not seen by
anyone since Twain's lifetime have turned up.

Kevin Mac Donnell
Austin TX

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