Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47252

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47252

[Mark Twain]. Samuel Clemens Signed and Engrossed Check. 7 7/8 x 2 3/4 inches; Hartford, Connecticut; May 12, 1875. Check No.112 drawn on First National Bank of Hartford, made out to book publisher Estes & Lauriat for $7.88. Signed, "Samuel L. Clemens." Endorsement and processing stamps on verso. Beckett certified and encapsulated to an overall size of 9 x 6 inches.

On the evening of May 12, 1875, Clemens appeared at a fund-raising fair at Hartford's Asylum Hill Congregational Church, where he participated in a spelling match. During his remarks, he announced that one of the prizes would be Guizot's exquisitely illustrated History of France, published by Estes & Lauriat.

Condition: Minor toning along left margin with a small pinhole at lower right. Minor thumbsoiling on verso.

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