Darren Sutherland
Specialist
Lot 6
MARK TWAIN'S WISDOM OF THE AGES. CLEMENS, SAMUEL LANGHORNE ("MARK TWAIN"). 1835-1910. Photograph Signed ("Mark Twain") and Inscribed, to his family doctor Edward Quintard, with the witty aphorism, "Admonitions—harvested from the wisdom of the ages: Physician, heal thyself. Patient, heel thyself,"
1 – 10 June 2020, 13:00 EDT
Online, New YorkSold for US$11,325 inc. premium
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MARK TWAIN'S WISDOM OF THE AGES.
CLEMENS, SAMUEL LANGHORNE ("MARK TWAIN"). 1835-1910. Photograph Signed ("Mark Twain") and Inscribed, to his family doctor Edward Quintard, with the witty aphorism, "Admonitions—harvested from the wisdom of the ages: Physician, heal thyself. Patient, heel thyself," 13 x 10 1/2 inch photogravure by Gessford, dated 1904 in the image and Gessford's blindstamp to upper margin.
SUPERB PHOTOGRAVURE PORTRAIT OF TWAIN, INSCRIBED AT NEW YEAR'S TO TWAIN'S FAMILY PHYSICIAN, EDWARD QUINTARD:
"Admonitions—harvested from the wisdom of the ages:
Physician, heal thyself.
Patient, heel thyself...."
Twain inscribed this image during an especially tumultuous period in his life as he approached his 70th birthday: his beloved wife Livy had died in Italy in July, and both he and his daughter Clara were sorely grief-stricken. Quintard solicitously cared for them both, making arrangement for a rented house in which Clara convalesced. Quintard would go on to minister to Twain during the remaining years of his life, and presided at Twain's deathbed. Twain would experience further heartbreak in his old age, including the loss of his dearest daughter Jean; and while the clinical cause of his death was heart disease, the NY Times yet reported that, in the opinion of the townsfolk who knew him, Twain "died of a broken heart."
Known for his incisive wit, Mark Twain is widely regarded as "The Great American Author" and Huck Finn as the "Great American Novel." In the oft-quoted words of Ernest Hemingway, who might also lay a claim to the American mantle: "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." This lush photogravure portrait shot in Lee, MA, just after his return from Italy upon Livy's passing, captures a still vital Twain deepened by his own wisdom of age. The witty yet insightful comment on the doctor-patient relationship is the first and only usage we can trace. A wonderful addition to any Twain collection, and spectacular for any medical collection.
SUPERB PHOTOGRAVURE PORTRAIT OF TWAIN, INSCRIBED AT NEW YEAR'S TO TWAIN'S FAMILY PHYSICIAN, EDWARD QUINTARD:
Physician, heal thyself.
Patient, heel thyself...."
Twain inscribed this image during an especially tumultuous period in his life as he approached his 70th birthday: his beloved wife Livy had died in Italy in July, and both he and his daughter Clara were sorely grief-stricken. Quintard solicitously cared for them both, making arrangement for a rented house in which Clara convalesced. Quintard would go on to minister to Twain during the remaining years of his life, and presided at Twain's deathbed. Twain would experience further heartbreak in his old age, including the loss of his dearest daughter Jean; and while the clinical cause of his death was heart disease, the NY Times yet reported that, in the opinion of the townsfolk who knew him, Twain "died of a broken heart."
Known for his incisive wit, Mark Twain is widely regarded as "The Great American Author" and Huck Finn as the "Great American Novel." In the oft-quoted words of Ernest Hemingway, who might also lay a claim to the American mantle: "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." This lush photogravure portrait shot in Lee, MA, just after his return from Italy upon Livy's passing, captures a still vital Twain deepened by his own wisdom of age. The witty yet insightful comment on the doctor-patient relationship is the first and only usage we can trace. A wonderful addition to any Twain collection, and spectacular for any medical collection.