Yes, probably me. In my catalogue notes I cite Letters 5:145.n4 which
confirms that a statement dated 1-12-78 covering the last six months of
sales indicated that 26,310 scrapbooks had been sold by that time and Twain
had been paid about $1,000. I don't have the source handy, but I also record
that his profits eventually topped $12,000. I don't have a date handy for
that citation, but it's in my notes.
Among my two dozen articles in progress, I have an outline and folder of
research on the scrapbook, including a mass of advertising data on them,
catalogues describing the formats, various patent records covering 1873 to
1902, contemporary reviews, etc. The examples I have show how people did and
did not use them, and reveal formats not included in Slote's catalogues and
ads. I also have a lot of material on Dan Slote and his business. Slote
seems to have given them away to his female friends from time to time. I've
invested a good deal of time (and a few $$) in my research, but two other
research projects are more pressing at the moment. I'll eventually get back
to it and write up a full account. None of the accounts I've read on the
scrapbook are entirely satisfactory or give full accounts.
I think the multiplier for late 19th century dollars is 25, so Twain perhaps
made $300,000 in modern dollars from the scrapbook. That does not smell like
failure to me. They also spread his fame in a positive way for 25 years.
Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB
*************************
You may browse our books at:
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Kitty
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2017 7:06 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Mark Twain Scrapbook
Someone - possibly you Kevin, considering your collection - mentioned that
p=
rofits were in the neighborhood of $10,000. By itself, the number sounds
lik=
e success. But over 20-30 years, maybe not so much. Is that a verifiable
num=
ber?
Sent from my iPhone
> On Nov 13, 2017, at 9:23 PM, Kevin Mac Donnell
> <[log in to unmask]
OM> wrote:
>=20
> The Mark Twain Scrapbook is nicely written up in a book on scrapbooking
> th=
at=20
> I reviewed in the Forum a few years ago. As claimed in the
> advertisements,=
=20
> it was a clear improvement over the practice of having to apply your
> own=20=
> paste. That could get messy. I have over 50 examples--all different
> cover=20=
> designs and sizes--and this includes some unused ones. The pages do
> often=20=
> stick together, but this should not comes as a surprise for a book kept
> ov=
er=20
> 100 years in a barn, house, or attic without the benefit of humidity
> and=20=
> temperature control. I'd get a bit sticky myself, probably within days.
> Bu=
t=20
> I have many more examples whose pages have not stuck together, and the
> glu=
e=20
> is remarkably stable. The glue used in some self-adhesive photo albums
> of=20=
> the 1970s is notoriously unstable and often reacts very badly and
> destroys=
=20
> whatever is stuck in the album. Not so with the Mark Twain Scrapbooks.
>=20
> The thing was a success and was produced from 1877 to at least 1901
> (the=20=
> date of the last catalogue I have listing them).
>=20
> Kevin
> @
> Mac Donnell Rare Books
> 9307 Glenlake Drive
> Austin TX 78730
> 512-345-4139
> Member: ABAA, ILAB
> *************************
> You may browse our books at:
> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>=20
>=20
> -----Original Message-----=20
> From: Martin Zehr
> Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2017 12:46 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Mark Twain Scrapbook
>=20
> Mark Twain scrapbooks are not in the rare category of Twain collectibles,
> as far as I can determine, and Kevin Mac Donnell can attest. They come in
> a=
> variety of covers and sizes, with the "Mark Twain" trademark prominently
> displayed inside the front cover. They come up on ebay once in awhile and
> I've purchased three over the years, none which were expensive. They
> were=
> available from the 1870s into the 20th century. The examples I have were
> used and are interesting artifacts to peruse, the owners inserting news
> items, bad poetry and personal items. An unused example would
> undoubtedly=
> be more expensive, but undoubtedly less interesting.
> Martin Zehr
>=20
> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=3Demail&utm_source=3Dlink&utm_=
campaign=3Dsig-email&utm_content=3Dwebmail&utm_term=3Dicon>
> Virus-free.
> www.avast.com
> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=3Demail&utm_source=3Dlink&utm_=
campaign=3Dsig-email&utm_content=3Dwebmail&utm_term=3Dlink>
> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
>=20
>> On Sat, Nov 11, 2017 at 3:17 AM, Arianne . <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>=20
>> Thank y ou so much. One of his scrapbooks plays a large part in
>> my interest in Twain. I've never checked, but I wonder if any blank
>> ones ever come up for sale. I imagine plenty of used ones might. I
>> assume the collection of scrapbooks held by the Mark Twain Project
>> in Berkeley contain examples of scrapbooks the family created before
>> the patent and some they made after.
>>=20
>> THANKS!
>> Arianne Laidlaw
>>=20
>> On Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 11:38 AM, Robert M Ellsworth
>> <[log in to unmask]>=
>> wrote:
>>=20
>>> Here is a direct link to the Google Patents page for the
>>> =3D91Improvemen=
ts
>> =3D
>>> in Scrap-books=3D92 patent, from which you can download a PDF copy if
>>> th=
e=20
>>> =3D
>>> online documentation is too hard to read (as it very often is!)
>>>=20
>>> https://www.google.com/patents/US140245
>>>=20
>>> The idea is rather interesting: he covers the whole page with =3D
>>> water-soluble glue or mucilage, and a user moistens just the area
>>> where=20=
>>> =3D
>>> something is to go, presumably most easily with a small brush or blot
>>> of=
>> =3D
>>> paper. Contemporary ads appear to show something between the treated
>>> =3D=
>>> gummed pages, perhaps material to which the gum left exposed between
>>> =3D=
>>> pasted items won=3D92t self-stick in humid locations. Presumably there
>>> i=
s
>> =3D
>>> some care to provide =3D91adhesive=3D92 that will not stick until
>>> desire=
d, =3D
>>> perhaps dusting with (dyed) cornstarch or similar material to form
>>> what=20=
>>> =3D
>>> parents with diapered children might know as =3D91a barrier layer=3D92.
>>>=20
>>> The accounts I=3D92ve read say that he made ample profit from this =3D
>>> invention, and my guess is that the name recognition was a large part
>>> of=
>> =3D
>>> the attractiveness. Perhaps it would still be, if anyone decided to
>>> =3D=
>>> =3D93re-introduce=3D94 these with modern materials =3D85 I can think of
>>> a=
few=20
>>> =3D
>>> improvements just looking at the patent drawings.=3D
>>>=20
>>=20
>>=20
>>=20
>> --
>> Arianne Laidlaw A '58
>>=20
|
