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This page offers tips on evaluating Mark Twain books that turn up on online auction sites, such as eBay. My goal is to help counter the kinds of misinformation--usually unintentional--that one frequently encounters in auctions and to lead prospective bidders to more accurate sources of information on Mark Twain and his books. I plan to add and change these features from time to time, so please drop back here again. Also, please understand that although I know a fair amount about Mark Twain and his writing, I'm not an expert in the field of book collecting. I will thus welcome any suggestions or corrections to this page that you care to make.
Note:
The shelf of books shown in the image above is one of many "authorized editions" of Mark Twain books published by Harper
&
Brothers during the early 20th century. This particular set has the phrase "The Complete Works of Mark Twain" on each book's title page. That in itself is a misnomer; there has never been a truly complete edition of Mark Twain's writings. For that, we must await completion of the work of the Mark Twain Project at the University of California at Berkeley--which is the subject of another page on this site.
Note:
If you find this page loads slowly, try scrolling down and reading the text while you wait for the images to appear.
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Copyright dates vs. publication dates
Perhaps the greatest source of confusion about Mark Twain
editions offered on online auctions is the distinction between
dates of copyright and dates of actual publication. Most reprints (as opposed to first editions) that appeared between, roughly, 1910 and 1950 don't
give actual publication dates. Their copyright dates usually have
nothing to do with when they were published.
The only U.S. company authorized to publish Mark Twain books
protected by copyright was Harper
&
Bros. Harper occasionally
licensed other companies, such as Collier's and Grosset
&
Dunlap,
to issue books under their own imprints. Meanwhile, Harper itself
continued to publish most editions of Mark Twain's books. In 1912
Harper begin indicating publication dates with a series of letter
codes printed at the bottom of copyright pages (the other sides
of title pages). The page illustrated above is an example. The
book's copyright date is 1922, which is when this book (a
collection of short pieces) was
first
published. However,
the
"I-D"
printed below indicates that this book was actually
printed seven years later. The
I
represents September, and
the
D
represents 1929, as indicated by the list of codes
below. (Note that
J
is never used--because it is
identical to
I
in classical Latin. In the absence of
J
,
M
becomes the 12th letter in the alphabet--which
is why Harper used it to begin its coding series in 1912.)
MONTHS: A
Jan;
B
Feb;
C
Mar;
D
Apr;
E
May;
F
Jun;
G
Jul;
H
Aug;
I
Sep;
K
Oct;
L
Nov;
M
Dec
YEARS:
M
1912, 1937;
N
1913, 1938;
O
1914, 1939;
P
1915, 1940;
Q
1916, 1941;
R
1917, 1942;
S
1918, 1943;
T
1919, 1944;
U
1920, 1945;
V
1921, 1946;
W
1922, 1947;
X
1923, 1948;
Y
1924, 1949;
Z
1925, 1950;
A
1926, 1951;
B
1927, 1952;
C
1928, 1953;
D
1929, 1954;
E
1930, 1955;
F
1931, 1956;
G
1932, 1957;
H
1933, 1958;
I
1934, 1959;
K
1935, 1960;
L
1936, 1961; etc.
Since only Harper used this coding system, it is often impossible
to determine the publication dates of other companies' editions.
One thing, however, that you can almost always be sure of: Publication dates of those editions are later than the
latest copyright dates printed in them.
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Rarely a day passes without at least one online auctioneer offering
an
inscribed copy
of a Mark Twain book that appears to be handwritten by the Great Man
himself. Almost invariably, the inscription is identical to the
one in this picture. It's an old story. Long before online auctions
came along, a book dealer once told me that he was offered
similarly "autographed" Mark Twain books an average of at least
once a week. How can we be so sure that those autographs aren't
real? Well, seeing the exact same inscription in more than a
hundred different books generally makes one at least a tad bit
suspicious.
By the way ... can you guess where the Mark Twain autograph on the cover of
Mark Twain A to Z
came from?
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Here's another example of a printed
autograph
that frequently confuses people. This one looks vastly more authentic than the inscription shown above; it's on the finely engraved frontispieces of early editions of
A Tramp Abroad
, which was first published in 1880. Almost every time an early copy of this book comes up for auction online, the seller will admit to not being sure if the inscription is printed or handwritten by Mark Twain, while broadly hinting that the latter is more likely the case. Why not? A real Mark Twain signature would add at least a thousand extra dollars to the value of the book. Unfortunately, those inscriptions were printed by machines. If you still have doubts, compare any two copies of this page and see if you can see the slightest difference between their inscriptions.
Another early Mark Twain edition with a realistic-looking facsimiles of hs signature is
Following the Equator
(1897). That book's frontispiece has a photograph of him sitting on a ship's deckchair above this famous handwritten inscription:
Be good and you'll be lonesome. Mark Twain
I liked that page so much that I used it as the frontispiece of my own
Mark Twain's Book for Bad Boys and Girls
. (By the way, anyone who still believes that the signatures on those books are really handwritten by Mark Twain is welcome to buy one of my copies for the fair market value of a genuine Mark Twain autograph: $1,000. I'll even pay for the shipping ... after your check clears. )
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This curious page, one of several like it from the first edition of
Connecticut Yankee
, has probably confused more than
one book collector. In fact, an online auctioneer who recently offered a copy of the book
virtually apologized for this page, which he thought might have been accidentally
misprinted. There is actually nothing wrong with the page. It looks as it does, because it is
supposed be a sample of a page printed in a primitive newspaper in sixth century England. Ironically, reproducing the appearance of that fictional newspaper page has always posed special challenges
to publishers of later editions of
Connecticut Yankee
. Most editions of the book have simply
duplicated the page from the original edition. Hence, this page that some people think is a misprint may well be the single most frequently reproduced page of Mark Twain's published writings.
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Many Mark Twain books published during the mid-20th century carry his real name,
Samuel L. Clemens
, instead of "Mark Twain," on their covers and title pages. Why? Because their publishers were reprinting books that had fallen into the
public domain
as their copyrights began expiring during the early 1930s; they wanted to avoid possible troubles relating to the fact that "Mark Twain" was a legally protected trademark. Most books published under the name "Clemens" have little or no value to Mark Twain collectors, unless they have unusual illustrations or other unique features. Unillustrated "Clemens" books are likely to be worthless. Yellowing copies of these editions are occasionally offered on online auctions as "early," "vintage," or "rare." The fact is that many of them look much older than they actually are because they were printed on high-acid paper that yellows and crumbles quickly. In any case, age alone does not necessarily make a book valuable.
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For truly expert advice on
first editions
of Mark Twain works, you can do no better than to consult the July/August and September 1998 issues of
Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine.
Both issues contain feasts of information and pictures (rare treats in themselves!) on virtually every original American edition of Mark Twain's many books, including those published posthumously. The second issue also contains an extensive and annotated list of reference materials on Mark Twain.
All the articles were written by Austin, Texas, book dealer
Kevin Mac Donnell,
who's a pretty fair writer himself. His articles are both full of information and a delight to read.
I've put a link to Kevin's website at the bottom of this page. If you're looking for high-quality editions of early books--particularly literature--it will take you to the mother lode. Even if you're not intending to buy anything, a visit to his catalog will reward you by exposing you to the kind of detailed information on books that serious collectors demand. If you're considering buying or selling a valuable book on an online auction, you might find it useful to check this catalog to compare prices. Keep in mind, however, that condition is everything to serious collectors, and that the condition of books sold online rarely meets the standards of specialty book dealers and their customers. Still, it's always fun to look.
For tips on Mark Twain
collectibles
, including online auction items, visit Jim Zwick's website. There you will find valuable links to authoritative information on first editions, Mark Twain's autograph and handwriting, postcards, and much other information. You'll find a link to Jim's website at the bottom of this page. Believe me, it's worth checking out.
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Don't even ask! If you see one of these books, keep it away from children, as it is a sanitized, dumbed-down adaptation that is a disgrace to book publishing--regardless of how "wonderful" an online auctioneer says it is.
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Go to my Mark Twain books page
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Mac Donnell Rare Books online catalog
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Zwick's tips on Mark Twain collectibles
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