LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 October Rare Books & Manuscripts #675  / 

30838

1894 Promotional Calendar for Pudd'nhead Wilson

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Paper Start Price:4,500.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
1894 Promotional Calendar for Pudd'nhead Wilson
<B> Mark Twain Tiny 1894 Promotional Calendar for Mark Twain's Serialized Novel, </B></I><I>Pudd'nhead Wilson.</B></I> Staple-bound in buff yellow wrappers. Twain's comic detective story was serialized in seven installments between 1893 and 1894 in New York's <I>The Century Magazine.</B></I> The magazine created this 2.25" x 3" calendar as a unique promotional ploy to introduce readers to Twain's newest Mississippi River tale, and often passed it out at newsstands. Titled "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar for 1894," this small pamphlet begins with a short piece on finger prints, a salient plot device in <I>Pudd'nhead Wilson,</B></I> and one of the first times finger prints were used in a detective story. Following this is a monthly calendar of 1894 with one of Wilson's maxims printed beneath each month. For example, under August can be read "Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? Is it because we are not the person involved?" The calendar concludes with a two page advertisement for the upcoming <I>Pudd'nhead Wilson</B></I> installments in <I>Century,</B></I> a picture of Twain on the inside of the back cover, and the notice on the back cover that this tiny calendar was "Set up and Printed for Mr. Wilson by Henry Butts, Dawson's Landing, MO. Fine Job Printing a Specialty." A number of these calendars were printed, and greatly assisted <I>Century</B></I> in selling <I>Pudd'nhead Wilson</B></I> to their readers. They are extremely rare today, however, especially in as fine condition as this example, which appears virtually uncirculated. The tiny pamphlet comes housed in a custom slipcase with marbled paper boards, shelf-backed in crimson cloth, with gilt lettering on the spine. "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar for 1894" is a unique paper collectible, essential for any Twain fan or completist or serious ephemera collector.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Books & Catalogs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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