In 1869, Mark Twain began a short tenure as managing editor of the Buffalo Express, Buffalo’s morning newspaper. Besides editorial duties, Twain wrote Saturday features that highlighted his inimitable humor. Illustrations, roughed out by Twain and finished by in-house artists, accompanied them.
The years 1869 through 1871 were pivotal to Twain’s life. He had been a newspaperman for nearly 10 years when he took the job. It was his first position in newspaper management and the first time he had invested in a newspaper. His book “The Innocents Abroad” appeared immediately before he started at the Buffalo Express, and proved massively popular. Its success spurred him to abandon journalism and strike out as an author. The stories published by the Buffalo Express represent his final work as a journalist.
There are actually 12 Twain features in the book (13, if one two-part story is considered to be two separate works). They cover a range of topics. Some are local, including features focused on Buffalo and upstate New York. A few make fun of other parts of the country. Three focus on the then-occurring Franco–Prussian War. Others can be categorized only as acerbic Twain commentaries.
They are presented in nine chapters. Each chapter concludes with commentary by Mr. Reigstad, which puts Twain’s stories in context. Mr. Reigstad explains references made by Twain that contemporary readers would have understood but may be missed by modern readers. He also explores Twain’s life as Twain wrote the pieces. The death of Twain’s father-in-law and a close friend of Twain’s wife marred the end of Twain’s tenure at the Buffalo Express with tragedy. It forced Twain to play the comedian when he was filled with grief.
The illustrations are also placed at the end of each chapter. The period artwork was done by John Harrison Mills and True Williams, two noted periodical illustrators of the 19th century. Other illustrations of the stories were made by Tom Toles and Bill Watterson (who later did “Calvin and Hobbes”) when the stories were reprinted by the Buffalo Courier-Express in the late 1970s.
“The Illustrated Mark Twain and the Buffalo Express” offers modern readers fresh insights into Mark Twain. A fascinating book, it shows his enduring influence across three centuries.
By Thomas J. Reigstad North Country Books, Feb. 20, 2024 Hardcover: 138 pages
