Description:

Signed Imperial Cabinet Card of Mark Twain and George Washington Cable, c. 1884, albumen photograph by Napoleon Sarony, on black mount, with Sarony's New York imprint in gilt, signed by both sitters, image 11 3/4 in. x 7 1/8 in., card 13 in. x 7 1/2 in., framed. Provenance: Collection of Ray Samuel, New Orleans Note: Napoleon Sarony (1821-1896), born in Canada, arrived in New York in the 1930s. Working as a lithographer, he was a partner in Sarony, Major & Knapp, one of the most successful companies in the field, which later became the American Lithographic Company. A visit to his photographer brother in Europe inspired Sarony to start a studio in New York. He was one of the first to implement the practice of paying well-known individuals to pose for him and then retaining the rights to sell celebrity photos for a profit. Sarony was the plaintiff in one of the most famous copyright cases in history; involving the unauthorized reprinting of Sarony's photograph of Oscar Wilde. As a result the Supreme Court upheld a photographer's right to claim copyright protection on his own photographs as an original work of art. One of the lessons Twain learned at the start of his career was that a lecture tour was a good way to advertise and promote a new book. Although he hadn't toured since the early 1870s, by the summer of 1884 he had hired Major J.B. Pond as the agent, and contracted with George Washington Cable, author of The Grandissimes and other fiction about New Orleans, to accompany him as a performer. Together Twain and Cable were billed as "The Twins of Genius," and took the stage for over 103 performances in about 80 cities between 5 November 1884 and 28 February 1885. The photo in this lot was taken in the fall of 1884, and was used in the promotion of the tour. Ref.: http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/huckfinn/hftourhp.html. Accessed Oct. 3, 2018.; http://www.twainquotes.com/sarony/sarony.html. Accessed Oct. 3, 2018.

  • Condition: All lots are sold “As is” and “Where is”. Neal Auction provides condition reports on items with a low estimate over $500 as a courtesy to aid in your bidding decision. No statement regarding age, condition, kind, value, or quality of a lot, whether made orally at the auction or at any other time, or in writing in this catalogue or elsewhere, shall be construed to be an express or implied warranty, representation, or assumption of liability. Completed condition reports are posted as an additional image with the lot. Neal Auction does not give refunds.

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November 17, 2018 10:00 AM CST
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$10,000 $49,999 $500
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