Wed, 16 Oct 1996 13:31:43 EST
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Besides being a Mark Twain enthusiast, I am a postcard collector with a
hefty album of Mark Twain items. Can anyone in this learned group shed
light on the gensis and publishing history of my favorite set of Mark
Twain quotation postcards?
There are 16 of them (as far as I know), sepia-toned, standard size
(3-1/2 x 5-5/8), some in portrait and some in landscape format. The
faces bear various photos of M.T. in casual poses -- in a rocker,
playing billiards, and so forth -- in an ornate square frame. The
quotation is in a separate frame at the side or below, with a facsimile
signature. The quotations are the familiar "zingers": "Be good and
you will be lonesome." "Nothing so needs reforming as other people's
habits." "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been."
All but two of the quotations are attributed to "Following the
Equator," the other two to "Pudd'nhead Wilson," with copyright in the
appropriate year by Olivia L. Clemens.
The backs come in two varieties. To my eye, one is Arts and Crafts,
with a decorative element consisting of three little boxes. The other
back seems closer to the Twenties, with a shield motif containing "A P
Co."
Any insight or info concerning how these cards came to be, who
published them, and whether they were produced in Clemens' lifetime --
1905-1910 being the peak of the postcard fad -- would be greatly
appreciated.
Henry Feldman
Boston
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