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Wed, 16 Nov 2005 21:46:07 +0000
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It is indeed a creation of Sam Clemens, marketed in a number of different
formats and covers, plain and sometimes quite elaborate, over a number of
years. This invention actually made money for Clemens, perhaps having the
byproduct of reinforcing his self-image as astute businessman, a delusion
that would lead to disaster in the form of the Paige typesetter. Slote,
Woodman & Co. was a New York Publisher and, if memory serves me, the
publisher of the 1871 "Mark Twain's Autobiography and First Romance."
(That's a paraphrasing of the actual title, a slim volume illustrated by
Thomas Nast). The Self-Pasting Scrap Book is one of the more accessible
pieces of Twain ephemera for collectors, often showing up in ebay auctions.
Martin Zehr
Kansas City, Missouri
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