Category:Mark Twain's Scrap Book

Mark Twain received a United States patent in c.1873 for his design for a self-adhesive blankbook to be used as a scrap book.[1][2][3][4]. "Although patented in 1873 it was not produced until 1877, and was issued in a dizzying array of bindings and formats, ranging from cheap paper wrappers to heavily gilt full leather, from pocket size (3 1/2 x 8 inches) to small folio (11 x 16 inches). Some were indexed, tabbed, or had numbered pages, and at least one late example (1902) had a dated title-page. A 1901 catalogue issued by Dan Slote Company listed fifty-seven different formats, each available in two or three different colors. The pages were self-pasting, and contrary to legend, worked rather well as long as unused leaves were not exposed to damp" (Kevin MacDonnell. Collecting Mark Twain: A History and Three New Paths. 1998)