Conservation Assessment of Certain Mark Twain Belongings from the Collections of The Mark Twain House & Museum

FAIN: PG-271622-20

Mark Twain Memorial (Hartford, CT 06105-6400)
Mallory Howard (Project Director: January 2020 to January 2023)

An assessment by conservators from the Williamstown Art Conservation Center of the conservation treatment needs of nine priority items, all of which were owned by Samuel Clemens (“Mark Twain”). They include a travel trunk and case, a lithograph, and the six pockets of a billiard table. The project would allow the museum to prioritize the work that needs to be done and provide the detail it needs in order to budget, and seek funding, for the recommended treatment of these nine items that facilitate interpretation of the period and of Twain’s life. The proposed work was recommended in a broader assessment of the museum’s collections, supported by a 2019 Preservation Assistance Grant.

The Mark Twain House & Museum will engage a professional conservator to assess the conservation treatment needs of nine objects in the museum’s collections, all of which were personal belongings of Samuel Clemens (“Mark Twain”). The objects are irreplaceable artifacts of America’s literary history and culture, which provide unique and valuable insight into Mark Twain, his work, his era, and his enduring legacy. The project will provide the museum with the information needed to set conservation priorities, and to budget and fundraise for conservation work that will improve the condition of the objects. The project’s ultimate goal is to ensure the preservation of the objects so that they will continue to be available for display in the historic Mark Twain House, which is a National Historic Landmark, and in exhibitions at the museum and at other cultural institutions, as well as for research by museum staff, scholars, and others.