Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

Related

• - Browse neighboring items by call number.
• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: Mark Twain House, 351 Farmington Avenue (corrected from original address of 531 Farmington Avenue), Hartford, Hartford County, CT
• Other Title: Samuel Clemens House
  Mark Twain Memorial
• Creator(s): Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
• Related Names:
     Potter, Edward Tuckerman
     Tiffany, Louis Comfort
     Clemens, Samuel
     Twain, Mark
     Thorp, Alfred H.
     Fulton, Robert, III , photographer
     McDonald, Melissa , historian
     Mark Twain Memorial , sponsor
     Lindstrom, Frederick J. , project manager
     Lavoie, Catherine C. , project manager
     White, John Poston , field team supervisor
     Zurier, Sarah E. , historian
     Anderson, John Brandon , delineator
     Dotti, Sarah B. , delineator
     Geist, Rebecca A. , delineator
     Murdoch, Scot H. , delineator
     Nageswaran, Ruchira D. , delineator
     Santos, Michael A. , delineator
     Dumalsky, Volodymyr , delineator
     Strain, Mary Ellen , delineator
     Battle, Miles B. , delineator
     Collins, Judith E. , delineator
     Dolinsky, Paul D. , delineator
     Boucher, Jack E. , photographer
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1933
• Medium: Photo(s): 91
  Measured Drawing(s): 14
  Data Page(s): 44
  Photo Caption Page(s): 8
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HABS CONN,2-HARF,16-
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Sometimes architecturally referred to as "Mississippi Steamboat" style.
  • Significance: Completed in 1874, the Mark Twain house was designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter and Alfred H. Thorp for noted American author and humorist Samuel Clemens and his family. The Clemenses lived here from 1874 until 1891, during which time Mr. Clemens wrote a number of novels now recognized as classics of American literature, including "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876), "A Tramp Abroad" (1879), "The Prince and the Pauper" (1880), "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884), and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1889). The house was erected on a portion of the property known as "Nook Farm," a close-knit, prestigious enclave that included, in addition to the Clemens family, authors Harriet Beecher Stowe and Charles Dudley Warner, and suffragist Isabella Beecher Hooker. The Clemenses were known for their ostentatious lifestyle and entertaining. Guest included noted personalities of the day, including literary figures William Dean Howells, Thomas Bailey Aldrich and Bret Harte; actor Edwin Booth, and British explorer and journalist Sir Henry Morton Stanley. The Mark Twain House, with its irregular configuration, many gables, projecting bays, balconies, and covered porches provides a stunning example of the eclectic European-inspired Continental Picturesque style favored by the well-to-do from the late 1850s through the early 1870s. The design also follows several local conventions with its use of Windsor brick and Connecticut River Valley brownstone and with its glass-enclosed Conservatory modeled after a design attributed to Nook Farm neighbor Harriet Beecher Stowe. Of particular note, Louis Comfort Tiffany and his firm Associated Artists decorated the first floor rooms and central hall of the house. The Aesthetic Movement decor was influenced by East and Near East design and features intricate geometric stenciling on walls and doors, specialty wallpapers and some pierced brasswork and carved teak woodwork. Also, the house was fitted with the most advanced technological equipment of the day, including a telephone, speaking tubes and bells, burglar alarm, gas lighting, central heating, and extensive plumbing.
  • Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N250
  • Survey number: HABS CT-359
  • Building/structure dates: 1874 Initial Construction
  • Building/structure dates: 1881 Subsequent Work
  • Building/structure dates: 1886 Subsequent Work
  • Building/structure dates: 1929 Subsequent Work
  • National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000884
• Subjects:
  • houses
  • brick buildings
  • domestic life
  • historic house museums
  • balconies
  • turrets (towers)
  • porches
  • authors
• Place:
  • Connecticut--Hartford County--Hartford
• Latitude/Longitude: 41.766998, -72.701442
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ct0332/

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HABS CONN,2-HARF,16-
• Medium: Photo(s): 91
  Measured Drawing(s): 14
  Data Page(s): 44
  Photo Caption Page(s): 8

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

• Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
• If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
• Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
• If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
• Data Pages
• Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

• Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
• P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
• Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
• You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
• Make note of the Call Number listed above.
• Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
• The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
• All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

• Call Number: HABS CONN,2-HARF,16-
• Medium: Photo(s): 91
  Measured Drawing(s): 14
  Data Page(s): 44
  Photo Caption Page(s): 8

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

   • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.

     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

   • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

   • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.

   • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.

3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.