Anecdotes

There were many anecdotes about Mark Twain - some inspired by his own writing or interviews he gave, some entirely made up or resulting out of misunderstandings in the press. Some of these stories where republished frequently and while some remained exactly the same over the course of repeated printings, others differ a lot between versions in terms of context or even characters.

Applauding Himself

• Mark Twain erzählt, wie er sich selbst beklatschte | 05 Sep. 1901
• Mark Twain erzählt, wie er sich einmal selbst beklatschte | 30 Aug. 1901

First Earnings

• Mark Twain's erster Verdienst | 15 Jan. 1903
• Wie Mark Twain sein erstes Geld verdiente | 19 Dec. 1905
• Der erste Verdienst | 02 June 1905
• Das erste Verdienst | 07 Nov. 1905
• Wie Mark Twain sein erstes Geld verdiente | 04 Nov. 1905

First Publication

• Mark Twain’s erstes Werk | 06 Oct. 1899
• Wie Mark Twain seine erste Geschichte schrieb | 16 Nov. 1899

Making Alcohol out of Sawdust

This quote about German-Americans making alcohol out of sawdust was circulated widely in different newspapers and two alternate versions exist (some referring to a "kitchen table", some to "kitchen chairs" in the last line). The text was published, for example, in the Washington Evening Star ("Mark Twain on Prohibition", December 22, 1907, 4) and Oakland's The Republican ("Mark Twain on Prohibition", July 16, 1908, 7).