“I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835,” wrote Mark Twain in 1909. “It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.’"
Twain actually did go that year -- and now 100 years later, we celebrate a historic year in the legacy of Mark Twain. April 21 marked the centennial of his death. Our client, the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, CT, celebrated with none other than a Victorian-style séance. And while Mark didn’t make an appearance, it was worth a shot in requesting his presence!
Our connection and history with the Mark Twain House & Museum stems back 2008, when financial trouble at the House threatened to close the organization. During this trying time, we provided pro bono media relations support for a major fundraising event, “Authors Read for Twain,” which enlisted best-selling authors like Jon Clinch, Tasha Alexander, Tom Perrotta and more to raise funds to save the Mark Twain House. The benefit was the highest grossing fundraiser in the House’s history—with more than $500,000 in donations. To read more about our Twain work, please read our case study.
Fast forward to 2010… and Vault is working with the Mark Twain House to inspire Twain fans across the globe to preserve a national literary treasure by supporting and visiting the House throughout the year. With more than 30 events planned in 2010, we have been busily “spreading the word” about major events such as the 125th Anniversary of Huckleberry Finn (February 18) and the 100th Anniversary of his Mark Twain's death (April 21). With articles placed in The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and The Huffington Post, we are well on our way to preserving an iconic American author. One of our major accomplishments over the past four months occurred on Tuesday, April 20 when USA Today’s Bob Minzesheimer wrote an amazing piece on the influence of Twain in today’s society, the importance of the Mark Twain House & Museum and simply put, a celebration of “America’s favorite author.” It is surely a must read!