Mark Twain — topless!
The odd twists and turns I take on Wikipedia have once again led me to a surprising and entertaining discovery: Mark Twain, topless.
I laughed for five minutes after first seeing it — I’m not joking. And it wasn’t because I thought Clemens looked odd and uncomfortable without his customary formal attire, but because something so incredibly obscure as a picture of the legendary Mark Twain not wearing a shirt actually exists in the world.
The circumstances behind the portrait are fuzzy, but the photo’s caption provides the illustration note taken from UC Berkeley’s library: “Illustration 17 Mark Twain spoofed sexual conventions in ribald ways during his stay in Nevada and California during the 1860s, but the avoided telling the "queer secrets" of miners bedroom antics.” There’s definitely a typo in that last part, but the explanation still leaves the motive of “Topless Twain” unclear. To tell you the truth, I think I’d rather not know the story behind it. The pure oddity is enough for me.
How did I stumble on shirtless Sam Clemens? I was doing a little research while writing last night. I searched for “hat head” and got nothing, then tried “hat hair” with no avail. The blue link to “hair” attracted my curiosity, so I clicked it to learn everything I ever wanted to know about the wavy stuff covering my entire body. Innocently I scrolled down the page and found interesting facts (the average number of hairs on your head varies by your hair type and color…hmm) and looked at the photos portraying different hair styles. And then…BAM!...Topless Twain.
My days are so full of discovery and adventure.
I laughed for five minutes after first seeing it — I’m not joking. And it wasn’t because I thought Clemens looked odd and uncomfortable without his customary formal attire, but because something so incredibly obscure as a picture of the legendary Mark Twain not wearing a shirt actually exists in the world.
The circumstances behind the portrait are fuzzy, but the photo’s caption provides the illustration note taken from UC Berkeley’s library: “Illustration 17 Mark Twain spoofed sexual conventions in ribald ways during his stay in Nevada and California during the 1860s, but the avoided telling the "queer secrets" of miners bedroom antics.” There’s definitely a typo in that last part, but the explanation still leaves the motive of “Topless Twain” unclear. To tell you the truth, I think I’d rather not know the story behind it. The pure oddity is enough for me.
How did I stumble on shirtless Sam Clemens? I was doing a little research while writing last night. I searched for “hat head” and got nothing, then tried “hat hair” with no avail. The blue link to “hair” attracted my curiosity, so I clicked it to learn everything I ever wanted to know about the wavy stuff covering my entire body. Innocently I scrolled down the page and found interesting facts (the average number of hairs on your head varies by your hair type and color…hmm) and looked at the photos portraying different hair styles. And then…BAM!...Topless Twain.
My days are so full of discovery and adventure.
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