HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Mark Twain's Library of Humor'' is an 1888
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
of short humorous works compiled by
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
, pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens,
William Dean Howells William Dean Howells ( ; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American Realism (arts), realist novelist, literary critic, playwright, and diplomat, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ...
and Charles Hopkins Clark. In 1880, George Gebbie suggested to Mark Twain that he publish an anthology of humorous works. The idea evolved into a project financed by Clemens to produce an anthology of American humor with himself as editor and Howells and Clark assisting. Clemens did the least work on the project but remained in control and had the final say in everything. He realized how minor his role had been and wanted to put Howells's name on the title page. However, a legal agreement with
Harper and Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...
prevented this, stipulating that Howells' name would only appear on their publications. Harper and Brothers wanted US$2,500 (approximately $50,000 with inflation) for a release, compelling Howells to sign the Introduction as "The Associate Editors." The book was published in 1888 by Charles L. Webster & Company. When that firm collapsed in 1894, Harper and Brothers took over the publication of all of Clemens' work. The ''Library of Humor'' was a valuable piece, containing many
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
ed works by many distinguished and popular authors. Secretary of Harper and Brothers Frederick A. Duneka had it revamped and expanded by Burges Johnson for a multi-volume revival in 1906. The title and Apology were kept, but the result was wildly different; Clemens's reaction is suggested by the title of Johnson's Fall 1937 article in the ''Mark Twain Quarterly'', "When Mark Twain Cursed Me." One authority has even stated that it should be called ''The Harper Library of Humor''.


External links

* ''Mark Twain's Library of Humor'' on Wikisource (Work in progress) * {{William Dean Howells 1888 books Books by Mark Twain Works by William Dean Howells