Mark Twain House Tour
Room by Room: A Home Brought to Life
EQ: How does Twain’s House reveal to us the values of Victorian Hartford? Was Twain a man of
his time? How did his lifestyle contribute to or his literary works?
Room descriptions by Rebecca Floyd‚ Manager of Interpretive Services
| rebecca.floyd@marktwainhouse.org
Entrance Hall
The entrance hall provided an appropriately impressive area for receiving visitors. Leon Marcotte of New York
and Paris carved the entrance hall’s ornamental detail when the house was built. In 1881, the interior design
firm of Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists, was hired to stencil the room’s original wainscoting in silver, and
paint the walls and ceiling red with patterns of black and silver. They drew inspiration from the other cultures such as
the Middle East and Asia to form a cohesive design scheme that flowed throughout the first floor and public spaces of
the house.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The Drawing Room
The drawing room was the scene of formal entertaining. Associated Artists stenciled the walls and ceiling of this
room in silver East Indian motifs over salmon pink. The large pier glass mirror was a wedding gift that the
Clemens’ brought to Hartford from their first home in Buffalo, New York. The tufted furniture and chandelier also
belonged to the family during their residence here.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The Dining Room
The family ate most of their meals in the dining room, from small family suppers to formal, elegant dinner
parties. In 1881 the walls were covered with a rich embossed paper of red and gold to simulate the look of tooled
leather. The pattern of lilies is typical of the work of Candace Wheeler, a textile artist and partner in Associated
Artists. The walnut paneling and doors were covered with a delicate stenciling based on Chinese motifs. The kitchen
and servants’ wing are located off the north end of this room.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Personal Conscience
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
The Library
The library mantel is the focal point of the room where Clemens recited poetry, told stories and read excerpts
from his new works to his family and friends. Sam and Livy purchased the large oak mantelpiece from Ayton
Castle in Scotland specifically for their library. The Mitchell-Innes family crest appears on the overmantel, as well as
the year “1874”, an alteration made by Sam to reflect the year his family moved into their Hartford home. Sam also
added a brass smoke shield with the inscription “The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it,” a quote
from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The Conservatory
Like many upper-class late Victorian homes‚ the Clemens home had a conservatory. Theirs had a
fountain and was filled with lush‚ thriving plants. Clemens daughters Susy‚ Clara and Jean called this
room “The Jungle.”
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The Mahogany Room
The first-floor guest room‚ known to the family as “the mahogany room‚” was reserved for special guests.
Clemens’ editor and friend‚ William Dean Howells‚ called it “the royal chamber.” Although the MAHOGANY
ROOM is currently closed while the museum labors to bring it back to its Associated Artists-era beauty‚ visitors can
still peer in to get a sense of the meticulous restoration effort.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The Master Bedroom
The master bedroom, the private quarters of Clemens and his wife, is located on the second floor of the house.
The couple’s elaborately carved bed, which they purchased in 1878 in Venice, dominates the space. Sam kept it
with him all his life, calling it “the most comfortable bedstead that ever was, with space enough in it for a family, and
carved angels enough... To bring peace to the sleepers, ad pleasant dreams.” Samuel Clemens died in this bed in his
Redding, Connecticut home in 1910. Twain’s only surviving daughter, Clara, gave it to the museum in 1940.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The Nursery
Clara and Jean shared the nursery. (Susy‚ as the oldest child‚ had her own room.) The brass beds
recall the ones that Clara remembered when she visited the museum in 1957‚ during the early phase of
restoration. The wallpaper reproduces the original pattern by illustrator Walter Crane and tells the
nursery rhyme “Ye Frog He Would A-Wooing Go” (or “Froggie went a-courtin’” as it is better known
today) in words and pictures.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The School Room
The schoolroom‚ originally designed as Twain’s study‚ later became a play area and classroom for his
daughters. They were educated by their mother and a governess‚ who taught them German‚ history‚
geography‚ and arithmetic‚ among other subjects. The Fischer upright piano is the same year and
model as the one they were given for Christmas in 1880. The wall and ceiling decorations were done
in 1879‚ by an Elmira‚ NY decorator named Frederick Schweppe.
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Personal Conscience
The Billiard Room
The billiard room served as Mark Twain’s office, study and private domain. Located on the third floor,
away from the bustle of a busy household, it was the place where the author would write his great
works, fanning the manuscripts on the billiard table to be edited. Twain could relax and informally
entertain friends, sometimes into the early morning hours. The billiard table now in the house was
given to Sam by a friend in 1904.
Twain’s biographer, Albert Bigelow Paine, wrote: “Every Friday evening, or oftener, a small party of billiard lovers
gathered, and played until the late hour, told stories, smoked till the room was blue, comforting themselves with hot
Scotch and general good-fellowship. Mark Twain always had a genuine passion for billiards. He never tired of the
game. He could play all night. He could stay until the last man gave out from sheer weariness, then he would go on
knocking the balls about alone.”
Your observations:
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Do we see evidence of Twain themes in this room? (Circle all that apply):
Social Status Cultural Conformity Maturity Immaturity Knowledge
Society
Freedom
Morality
Personal Conscience
Ignorance, Race Class
privilege
Summative Assignment: Using TIME magazine’s “The Dangerous Mind of Mark
Twain” and your observations from Mark Twain’s house answer the Essential Question-----
How does Twain’s House reveal to us the values of Victorian Hartford? Was Twain a
man of his time? How did his lifestyle contribute to or his literary works?
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