(TWAIN MARK) Dircks Henry The Life Times and Scientific Labo

Sale 2114 - Lot 528

Unsold

Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500

TWAIN'S OWN SIGNED COPY (TWAIN, MARK.) Dircks, Henry. The Life, Times, and Scientific Labours of the Second Marquis of Worcester. Frontispiece, map, and numerous wood-engraved illustrations throughout. 4to, 1/2 calf gilt, professionally rebacked retaining original backstrip, some scuffing and edgewear with chipping. London, 1865

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from the library of mark twain, signed "s. l. clemens / hartford 1886" on front blank. First sold by his daughter Clara Clemens Samoussoud at the auction of Twain's library, Los Angeles April 10-14 1951, with the sale book label mounted to the front pastedown. Dircks, himself a civil engineer who took out patents for several inventions, wrote this work about the English inventor Edward Somerset (1601-1667), who Dircks claims to be the creator of the steam-engine. An interesting association as Twain was well-known for his fascination with inventions. He received three lucrative patents in the 1870s and 80s, but his financial backing of several inventions by others ultimately led him into bankruptcy.