Original manuscript page in Clemens’s hand, a portion of his novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, co-written with Charles Dudley Warner, 5 x 8, circa 1873. The novel, a satire on greed and political corruption in America in the period following the Civil War, was written jointly at the suggestion of the two men’s wives, each author contributing individual as well as collaborative chapters. The present extract, headed “1412,” comprises approximately 23 lines (more than 100 words) in Twain’s hand from Chapter 61, part of a conversation between Washington Hawkins and Colonel Sellers, discussing the condition of a trunk in the room and mentioning a telegram from Clay and a letter from Louise. A few smudges, and horizontal fold with short edge separation, otherwise fine, clean condition. JSA/John Reznikoff Auction LOA and RRAuction COA.
