Auction Name: 2026 March 18 The Dan Madsen Collection of Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain Memorabilia Americana & Political Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 43242

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6335*43242

Twain & Cable: Terra Cotta Plaque and Lecture Ticket. Lot includes: 1) 8 1/2" x 9" square, terra cotta relief plaque depicting Clemens in profile in the upper lefthand corner, and George W. Cable in the lower righthand corner, inscribed with the names "Mark Twain" and "Geo. W. Cable" to the left and the right, and signed by Gerhardt at the bottom, inscribed in ink on the back, in an unidentified hand, "from Mrs. Webster," author of "My dear enemy." In 1882 Clemens met George Washington Cable, a novelist who wrote sympathetically about African Americans, and whom he described in Life on the Mississippi as "the South's finest literary genius." In September 1884, Clemens commissioned Gerhardt to make a medallion of himself and of Cable, for which Gerhardt requested an advance of twenty-five to thirty dollars. The plaque was probably intended to commemorate a joint reading and lecture tour that Clemens and Cable embarked upon in 1884 through the East and Midwest. Two medallions are currently listed in the Smithsonian's inventory of Gerhardt's works: one clay model is owned by the Connecticut Historical Society, the other by Yale University. From the inscription on the back, it is possible that this copy of the plaque was presented to Annie Moffett, the daughter of Clemens's sister who was also the wife of Clemens's publisher, Charles L. Webster. 2) 2 3/4" x 5" Boston Music Hall Ticket with the dates of several entertainments on the back and their corresponding dates, including a lecture by Twain and Cable on Thursday, November 13, 1884.

Condition: Plaque has some patina, otherwise excellent condition, the lecture ticket has a bit of creasing in the corners, but aside from light handling wear, is also a fine example.

Include Thumbnail(s)