Sam’s First Speech, Keokuk ~ 1856 As a young printer, Sam Clemens gave his first public speech in Keokuk, Iowa, on 17 January, 1856, at a meeting of the Typothetae, an association of master printers who celebrated annually on the birthday of Benjamin Franklin, the patron of all printers. He was boarding … Read more
Printer Anecdotes ~ 1851-56 After the tragic death of his father in 1847, Sam Clemens, aged 12, began doing odds jobs to assist the family finances, and in 1848 he began working as a printer’s devil for the Hannibal Gazette, apprenticed to Joseph Ament. The job entailed “setting” type by hand using … Read more
Though today we may not think much of the difficulties of travelling around the world, what with airlines jetting people continent to continent, but only a short time back travel was much more limited. It was the courageous and adventurous explorers of the old world that kickstarted the trend of travelling the … Read more