Current Exhibition

In his inimitable way, humorist, author and social critic Mark Twain may have best defined the importance of clothing when he said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society."

Twain knew there was much truth to that humorous quip. He understood the impact clothing had on his era, he richly described clothing from King Arthur's era to modern times in his travelogues and novels, and he used clothing to manage his public persona.

From June 25 through October 24, The Mark Twain House & Museum brings together for the first time clothing and accessories that helped define Twain, his family and his times, in a new exhibition, Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born: Costume in the Life and Literature of Mark Twain.

Items displayed in Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born, including gowns worn by his wife, Olivia and the last jacket of his famed white suit, have been borrowed from several museums:

The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Hannibal, MO
Cornell University Costume Collection
Chemung Valley History Museum, Elmira, NY
The Connecticut Historical Society & Museum
Historic Northampton, Inc.

We'd like to thank our sponsors:

Additional support provided by The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum and Reid and Riege, P.C.