On the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain’s death, Sotheby’s is announcing the sale of a remarkable collection of original letters, manuscripts and photographs that shed light on the wit, pathos, and tragedy of the acclaimed author of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The selection of almost two hundred items valued at approximately $1 million offers a rare picture of not only Mark Twain, the well-known rowdy and often bawdy humorist, but also Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the devoted husband and father. The undisputed highlight of the collection is Clemens’ unpublished manuscript, “A Family Sketch,” his most intimate and introspective memoir of his family and his own boyhood days -- the missing chapter from his autobiography (est. $120/160,000).
The Mark Twain Collection will be included in a larger auction on 17 June: The James S. Copley Library: Arts & Sciences including the Mark Twain Collection. The James S. Copley Library is an astonishing survey in original manuscripts of American history and worldwide literary, artistic and scientific achievement. It was assembled by the California newspaper man, James Copley, mostly in the 1960s and 70s, and will be sold by Sotheby’s in a series of auction in 2010 and 2011.
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Clemens’ death, highlights from the collection will be shown at Sotheby’s in New York from 21-25 April 2010.
