Kevin. I don't follow what you mean by the story is wrong. Jerry Sent from my iPad > On Sep 13, 2017, at 3:53 PM, Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > They have the fence right and the story wrong. In the earliest known photo > of the boyhood home (a stereoview from ca 1882-83) the fence is a vertical > board fence just like what you see today, so that's historically correct. > > But see pp. 28, 30, 34, and 36 in the first edition of Tom Sawyer. > > Page 28 and 30 show the fence that was painted. Page 30 shows the fence in > the backyard (which was not painted) and page 36 shows another fence > entirely. The illustration at page 30 is clear as clear can be. But myths > die hard, like the bar-tab hoax or the Capt Sellers cover-story, Nigger Jim, > and the countless things that Twain never said that trail the false > appendage "--Mark Twain." > > 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: J. Dean > Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 3:31 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Hannibal > > The problem with having a fence that matches Twain's description and the > ori= > ginal Sawyer illustrations is that it seems unlikely that Aunt Polly would > n= > ot have seen the mob at work clearly visible through the wide spaces > between= > the rails. The vegetation in the yard could have created some visual obstr= > uction, of course. She was, also, at the back of the house nodding off > over= > her knitting with the cat in her lap when Tom came to tell her he was done > w= > ith the job. As Twain says she was expecting Tom to slip away, she > probably= > felt she had done her Christian duty by chasing Jim away and had long since= > stopped keeping tabs on him. > > Probably more to the point, the Rockwell illustration, used on the postage > s= > tamp and displayed in the Museum in Hannibal, is of a fence with vertical > bo= > ards. That, no doubt, seals the deal as far as what type fence will be > used= > on the boyhood home. "When the legend becomes fact ..." > > Jerry Dean > > Sent from my iPad > >> On Sep 13, 2017, at 2:34 PM, Peter Salwen <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> =20 >> Thanks for the terrific photos, Terry. The place seems to have changed a >> bit since I was there last, in 1955. >> =20 >> Alas, I see they've still got that fence wrong, though, with the boards >> upright, even though that great and wise philosopher who wrote *Tom >> Sawyer* makes >> it clear that they should run lengthwise: "Sighing, [Tom] dipped his >> brush= > >> and passed it along the topmost plank." >> =20 >> Stay well & keep sharing those pix. >> =20 >> *_________________________________* >> =20 >> *Peter Salwen /* salwen.com >> *114 W 86, NYC 10024 | 917-620-5371* >> =20 >> =20 >> On Wed, Sep 13, 2017 at 12:29 PM, Terry Ballard <[log in to unmask]> >> wrote: >> =20 >>> I recently traveled to Hannibal on the way to Nebraska to see the >>> total= > >>> eclipse. I'd been once before, but this time I had a camera with a nice >>> n= > ew >>> lens, so I had an afternoon and morning of fun capturing the spirit of >>> wh= > at >>> seemed to me to be a booming ghost town (Lots of tour buses and fudge >>> options, no groceries or gas stations that I saw). The town was >>> beautiful= > , >>> especially the Boyhood Home and the people were uniformly friendly and >>> helpful. If anyone is curious, a gallery of the best images can be found >>> a= > t >>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryballard/albums/72157688158021175 >>> Driving west, I passed on the exit for the Clemens Birth home - you have >>> t= > o >>> save something for the next visit. >>> =20 >>> -- >>> =20 >>> =20 >>> Terry Ballard >>> Author and Librarian Without Walls >>> http://www.terryballard.org >>> Author of the book "50 specialty libraries of New York City: =46rom >>> botan= > y to >>> magic" http:// <http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>librariesnyc.org >>> =20 >>> "My memory has a mind of its own." >>> =20 >> =20 >