To edify Mr. Griffin, I found when Twain & Cable came to Washington City they weren't billed as the "Twins of Genius." *Evening Star*, 15 Nov, 1884 5th column, mid-way http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1884-11-15/ed-1/seq-8/ On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 4:04 PM, Benjamin GRIFFIN <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I'd like to mention that, so far as I can tell, it's a myth that Twain and > Cable were ever billed as "Twins of Genius." I'm preparing a little article > about this often-repeated mistake. > > James B. Pond did advertise Bill Nye and James Whitcomb Riley as "Twins of > Genius," in 1889-1890. By 1900, when Pond wrote his memoir Eccentricities > of Genius, his memory slipped and he transferred that label, retroactively > and wrongly, to his earlier Twain-Cable tour (Eccentricities of Genius, p. > 231). > > No doubt that is where Guy Cardwell picked up the phrase which he used as > the title of his book on the Twain-Cable tour, which has made it a > commonplace of MT scholarship. (In that book he does not cite any source > for the "T. of G." phrase at all.) > > Of course this is the right forum to ask that, if anyone knows of anything > suggesting that Twain and Cable were billed as Twins of Genius, in 1884-85 > or any other time, I'll provide my customary rueful retraction. > > Ben Griffin > Mark Twain Project > Berkeley > > On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 11:04 AM, Benjamin GRIFFIN <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > I'd like to mention that, so far as I can tell, it's a myth that Twain > and > > Cable were ever billed as "Twins of Genius." I'm preparing a little > article > > about this often-repeated mistake. > > > > James B. Pond did advertise Bill Nye and James Whitcomb Riley as "Twins > of > > Genius," in 1889-1890. By 1900, when Pond wrote his memoir > Eccentricities > > of Genius, his memory slipped and he transferred that label, > retroactively > > and wrongly, to his earlier Twain-Cable tour (Eccentricities of Genius, > p. > > 231). > > > > No doubt that is where Guy Cardwell picked up the phrase which he used as > > the title of his book on the Twain-Cable tour, which has made it a > > commonplace of MT scholarship. (In that book he does not cite any source > > for the "T. of G." phrase at all.) > > > > Of course this is the right forum to ask that, if anyone knows of > anything > > suggesting that Twain and Cable were billed as Twins of Genius, in > 1884-85 > > or any other time, I'll provide my customary rueful retraction. > > > > Ben Griffin > > Mark Twain Project > > Berkeley > > > > > > > > On Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 12:38 PM, Scott Holmes <[log in to unmask]> > > wrote: > > > >> I just received a copy of this book two days ago and I've become > >> immersed in the broad topic of cultural milieu, then and now. I'm > >> rather disappointed in myself for not paying much attention to Andrew > >> Levy's points all these years. I don't particularly fit the profile he > >> draws of most readers today in that I never thought of Huck Finn as > >> centered on racism. My own take has always been that this was a story > >> of an outsider, a waif on the edge of society. I considered that > >> Twain's intention was to use this as a vantage point for criticizing > >> that society. > >> > >> I've only just begun a close reading and I've already been distracted by > >> my own research into The Twins of Genius Tour. I must have read about > >> it in passing but it was not until now that I've thought about it. My > >> first big find in this research was > >> http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/huckfinn/hftourhp.html > >> Wonderful job. > >> > >> Anyway, there seem to be a large number of reviews appearing and all are > >> very positive. I'm anxious to hear what Twain-Lians have to say about > >> this. I think it's going to stir that pot about the ending of the book. > >> It seems Tom Sawyer's complex escape plans for Jim may have been the > >> most popular part of The Twins of Genius Tour, at least Twain's part of > >> the tour. Just the reverse view is now held. My thought on the matter > >> is that if the racist elements of this segment were eliminated it would > >> be considered a success. It would be pure slap stick/vaudeville type > >> humor, minstrelsy without the blackface, just replace Jim with Laurel or > >> Hardy or one of the Stooges. > >> > >> Just some thoughts... > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > Benjamin Griffin > > Associate Editor, Mark Twain Project > > The Bancroft Library > > University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000 > > (510) 664-4238 > > > > > > -- > Benjamin Griffin > Associate Editor, Mark Twain Project > The Bancroft Library > University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000 > (510) 664-4238 > -- John Muller 202.236.3413 l [log in to unmask] Capital Community News l Greater Greater Washington l Huffington Post DC *Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C: The Lion of Anacostia <http://www.amazon.com/Frederick-Douglass-Washington-D-c-Anacostia/dp/1609495772/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=H42HP4SBZ8OA&coliid=I34OMAR1SV8L9G>* [The History Press, 2012] Winner of 2013 DC READS http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Douglassi http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/JohnMul Mark Twain in Washington, D.C.: The Adventures of a Capital Correspondent <http://amzn.to/19PzIFd> [The History Press, 2013]