Any bonus is better than none! Thanks for the clarification. Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 14, 2017, at 9:21 AM, Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > 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