An unpublished manuscript - photo 1
An unpublished manuscript - photo 2
An unpublished manuscript - photo 3

An unpublished manuscript

Lot 160
15.06.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 23 940
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 967564
Lot 160 | An unpublished manuscript
Estimate value
$ 5 000 – 8 000
An unpublished manuscript

Mark Twain, 26 June 1902

CLEMENS, Samuel ("Mark Twain," 1835-1910). Autograph manuscript signed, "The Loaves & the Fishes," written "On Board Kanawah At Sea," 26 June 1902.



Three pages, 197 x 123mm (pinholes at top left creased corners).



An unpublished Mark Twain story: a fable based on the Biblical story, written by Clemens while on board the Kanawha, the steam yacht of his good friend and financial adviser Harry Huttleston Rogers (to whom he sent this manuscript). Rogers had put his yacht at the disposal of the Clemens family for a cruise at the end of June 1902 from their Riverdale (on the Hudson) home to York Harbor, Maine (see a letter of the same date from Clemens to Rogers describing the voyage, in Christie's East sale of 12 November 1997, lot 146). The gist of Twain's joke in his sketch is that the real miracle was not the multiplication of the bread and fish, but the fact that the Twelve Disciples had served nearly 5,000 people and lived to tell the tale: "But now spoke Simon the Tanner, called the Grumbler, and said ... 'to feed Five Thousand with so light a Lay-out and have Fragments enough to Stuff Thirty-Seven Thousand left over, is, even in the purview of the Profession, a Corker; yet ... this was not the Real Miracle ... At his Level Best, and with Waldorf Tips in Sight, one Waiter can Serve but Four Persons and do it Well ... whereas we Twelve have passed the Things to Four Hundred apiece, and here we are Alive to Tell about it. What do ye call it? The Miracle of the Occasion, or ain't it...'" Provenance: E. W. Evans, purchase from Michael Papantonio: Books and Autographs April 1942 (with photocopy of his letter giving provenance and typed transcript) – Christie's East, 5 December 1997, lot 145 – Nick Karanovich (his sale, Sotheby's, New York, 19 June 2003, lot 145).

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
15.06.2023
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
$13 000
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
$100
The Prince and the Pauper, on china paper
The Prince and the Pauper, on china paper
$100
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
$15 000
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
$18 000
Grant's Memoirs, Inscribed to Capt. Frank Mason
Grant's Memoirs, Inscribed to Capt. Frank Mason
$100
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper
$1 000
Life on the Mississippi
Life on the Mississippi
$20 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>