Clemens, Samuel L.

Document signed ("Sam. L. Clemens," and "Samuel L. Clemens" in the text), a mining deed with the handwritten portion of the document—about 100 words—entirely in Clemens's autograph, countersigned by F. K. Bechtel, Notary Public, and a clerk in the County Recorder's Office who certified the document, 3 pages (13 3/4 x 8 1/2 in; 350 x 215 mm), [Aurora, Mono County, California], 7 August 1862, in ink on pale blue-gray paper, a party printed form with imprint "Mining Deed —No. 1, Towne & Bacon, Printers, San Francisco"; the document comprised of the indenture page with printed text  and Clemens's autograph additions and signature, the certification page (on verso)  with Bechtel's signature and his green paper notary's seal, and the docket page with the recording clerk's notes; some very slight wear at folds, but in excellent condition.

Percy Frederick Sinnett — A great-niece of Sinnet's, by descent (sale, Christie's, 5 December 1991, lot 203)

Document signed ("Sam. L. Clemens," and "Samuel L. Clemens" in the text), a mining deed with the handwritten portion of the document—about 100 words—entirely in Clemens's autograph, countersigned by F. K. Bechtel, Notary Public, and a clerk in the County Recorder's Office who certified the document, 3 pages (13 3/4 x 8 1/2 in; 350 x 215 mm), [Aurora, Mono County, California], 7 August 1862, in ink on pale blue-gray paper, a party printed form with imprint "Mining Deed —No. 1, Towne & Bacon, Printers, San Francisco"; the document comprised of the indenture page with printed text and Clemens's autograph additions and signature, the certification page (on verso) with Bechtel's signature and his green paper notary's seal, and the docket page with the recording clerk's notes; some very slight wear at folds, but in excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Mark Twain's "Sudden Death" in Australia.  Clemens responds to reports — all caused by an imposter ("some graceless adventurer") — that he has been seen in Australia and in fact has died there. As he makes clear to his Australian public in "A Word of Explanation":  "During the present year I have received letters from three gentlemen in Australia who had in past times known people who had known me 'in Australia.' But I have never been in any part of Australia in my life. By these letters it appears that the persons who knew me there, knew me intimately — not for a day, but for weeks, & even months. And apparently I was not confined to one place, but was scattered all around over the country. Also, apparently, I was very respectable ... from the character of the company I seem to have kept — Government officials, ladies of good position, editors of newspapers, etc.  

"It is very plain, then, that some one has been in Australia who did me the honor to personate me & call himself  by my name. Now if this man paid his debts, & conducted himself in an orderly & reputable way, I suppose I have no very great cause of complaint...and yet I am not able to believe that a man can falsely assume another man's name & at the same time be in other respects a decent & worthy person. I suspect that, specious as this stranger seems to have been, he was at bottom a rascal & a pretty shabby sort of rascal at that ... There are signs that I have an audience among the people of Australia. I want their good opinion; therefore I thought I would speak up & say that if that adventurer was guilty of any misconduct there, I hope the resulting obloquy will be reserved for him, & not leveled at me...

"To-day's mail brings a letter to a member of my family...dated 'Government House, Sydney, May 29,' in which the writer [a Mr. Cholmondeley] is shocked to hear of my 'sudden death.' Now that suggests that that aforementioned imposter has even gone to the length of dying for me. This generosity disarms me. He has now done a thing for me which I wouldn't even have done for myself. If he will only stay dead, now, I will call the account square, and drop the grudge I bear him. Mark Twain. Hartford, U.S.A., July 24." Clemens requested (in his letter below) that "A Word of Explanation" be printed, and it was, in the Adelaide Observer of 15 October 1881; it also appeared in The New York Times of 8 December of the same year (a photocopy is present).   

In his letter sending "A Word of Explanation" to Percy Frederick Sinnett (son of the  Australian author Frederick Sinnett, 1830–1865), Clemens writes:  " ... you will see by the enclosed [manuscript] that Mrs. Derwent, and your father, and many other citizens of your distant regions have been imposed  upon by some graceless adventurer. I have never been in your part of the world, nor further westward from here than the Sandwich Islands ... It has seemed worthwhile to at least publish the fact that he is not me, since if I remain silent & he chances to do somebody a wrong, my silence makes me an accessory...So I thought I would ask you to do me the great kindness to publish the short card which I enclose ['A Word of Explanation'], & append to it some remarks of your own attesting to its genuineness."  Clemens adds that the correspondent (Mr. Cholmondeley,) who reported his death, "does not say whence or how he got the news of my death, I have jumped to the conclusion that I have died (by proxy) somewhere in your region, & that my proxy is the same person who imposed upon your father & others. I shall write Mr. Cholmondeley that I am not dead yet, & shall hope it may reach Sydney before he leaves. What a pity he didn't come across my double in the flesh! But that is the sort of accident which an imposter never seems to encounter. Many a time men have lectured under my name in various States of this Union (sometimes in cities where I was personally known to a dozen people), but not one of them has ever had the ill luck to be detected..."