Mark Twain Room - Past Display
“The Walt Whitman Controversy” by Mark Twain
For many years Twain scholars and aficionados (affectionately known as “Twainiacs”) wondered what Mark Twain thought of censorship and book banning when it happened in his lifetime and speculated what he might think of its continuation since his death in 1910. It may well be that the answer to these burning questions is in the long-time unpublished piece Twain wrote in 1882 entitled “The Walt Whitman Controversy.” A facsimile of the manuscript of this piece generously provided by Robert Hirst of the Mark Twain Project (marktwainproject.org) of the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley is on display—as are significant editions of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, Twain’s 1601, and the recently published Gribben [NewSouth] edition Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Huck Finn’s Friend Tom Sawyer and His Adventures
Lest we forget, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) predates Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884, London ed.) and it is where Huck Finn had his beginnings as Tom’s friend. While the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library proudly houses the manuscript of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, George University Library keeps The Adventures of Tom Sawyer manuscript. The current exhibit pays tribute to Tom showcasing a facsimile of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer manuscript, a copy of the first American edition illustrated by True Williams, a copy of the earlier and un-illustrated first Canadian edition and select foreign language editions of the Twain novel.
Fine Prints from the Mark Twain Collection
In the early 1930s, the Buffalo Public Library (a predecessor of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library,) began to build a unique collection of special English and foreign language editions of the novel. Through the years, this collection has continued to grow. These remarkable items, currently numbering more than five hundred, fill the bookcases lining the walls of the Mark Twain Room at the Central Library.
Now featured in a new exhibition is a wide selection of Twain’s works acquired by the library during the past 80 years. The newest addition, and the centerpiece of this exhibit, is the 2008 Pie Tree Press The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, illustrated by renowned Canadian book artist Jim Rimmer. Also on display are several fine press publications of Twain’s writings, including multiple printings of his short and controversial Elizabethan skit, 1601.
125 Years of Huck
April 24 to December 31, 2010
An exhibit of never-before-seen leaves of Mark Twain's handwritten manuscript, to commemorate the 125-year anniversary of the first American edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.