The collection consists of two types of materials. The first group of materials, which were collected by Dr. Norman E. Clarke, includes items that were either written or endorsed by Mark Twain, or written about Mark Twain and his works. This group of materials includes: two brief handwritten notes by Twain, undated, and his wife, Olivia, 1890; postcards; portraits (mostly reproductions); newspaper and magazine clippings (originals and copies); articles about Twain, his works, and house; advertising fliers for Twain books; a Mark Twain calendar, 1910; various items published by the Mark Twain Assn. of America and the Mark Twain Birthplace Memorial Shrine; play bills, 1881; artifacts, including: a Mark Twain bust, Mark Twain brand cigar box, a Mark Twain brand memory game, a Mark Twain brand Scrap Book, and a brick from his house]; periodicals; and other materials.
Originally, this material came to the Clarke with Dr. Clarke’s large collection of books by and about Mark Twain. The books have been separately cataloged and are also housed in the Clarke Historical Library.
The second type of materials in the collection are various lists generated by the Dr. Norman E. Clarke and the Clarke Historical Library staff about Dr. Clarke’s Twain collection. These latter items, which are identified by an * [asterisk] preceding the folder description in the Box and Folder Listing, were compiled in order to produce the book entitled, the Norman E. Clarke Mark Twain collection: an exhibition for collectors, which was published by the Clarke in 1971. A copy of this is available at the Clark and Park libraries. These materials are typed and/or handwritten, and include galley proofs of the publication.
