A First-Class Fool: Mark Twain and Humor

The Jumping Frog cover

A First-Class Fool: Mark Twain and Humor
January – April 2025
Ground Floor Gallery

A First-Class Fool: Mark Twain and Humor examines Samuel Clemens as a humorist and how he crafted the great “Mark Twain” persona, how he cultivated that persona to widen his audience, and how Twain has influenced humorists and continues to influence them today. 

The exhibition’s title is drawn from Clemens’s off-the-cuff speech at an 1899 dinner held in his honor at the Savage Club in London. The toastmaster, Sir John MacAlister, had facetiously insulted Clemens, stating: “Mr. Clemens had tried to be funny but had failed, and his true role in life was statistics . . . and it would be the easiest task he ever undertook if he would try to count all the real jokes he had ever made.” Clemens opened his joking response by declaring: “Perhaps I am not a humorist, but I am a first-class fool–a simpleton; for up to this moment I have believed Chairman MacAlister to be a decent person whom I could allow to mix up with my friends and relatives.” 

In context, Twain is speaking specifically to MacAlister’s jibe. But his self-identification as a “first-class fool” captures his dual literary role as a simple, folksy author and speaker on the one hand, and an intelligent, cultured, and nuanced literary craftsman on the other. Twain worked carefully to construct his public persona, giving his public voice the appearance of something naturalistic and unrehearsed. Mark Twain was the performance of Samuel L. Clemens’s lifetime. 

Drawn from the private collection of Susan Jaffe Tane and featuring highlights from the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection at The New York Public Library, A First-Class Fool presents first and rare editions of Twain’s published works, including presentation copies, first periodical appearances, and uncommon variants; books from Twain’s library and other personal effects; Twain’s letters to his friends, publishers, and family; photographs; artwork; and ephemera. Many of these items are displayed for the first time in this exhibition. 

Curated by Susan Jaffe Tane, Gabriel Mckee, and Julie Carlsen

Poster design by Miko McGinty