Melville House Books

Today was the birthday, in 1835, of the great American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain. In honor of which, we bring to you this amazing bit of history: film footage shot in 1909 by Thomas Edison of Clemens at home at his estate in Stormfield, CT. In the clip, Clemens walks around him home, literally around, and sits with his two beloved daughters Clara and Jean, sipping tea and playing cards.

Valerie Merians is the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.