Bolstered by publishing, insurance, and other industries, Hartford in the late 1800s to early 1900s was a wealthy city in the United States. Case & Rathburn were among the many stores to be found in downtown where residents could find the supplies they needed – from food and home goods, to clothing and novelties. By examining their check register, we know that the Clemenses bought a dozen custom shirts and 200 cigars from Case & Rathburn in 1874.

Clemens preferred the cheap cigars and in a 1905 letter to a friend he said, “I know a good cigar better than you do, for I have had sixty years’ experience. No, that is not what I mean; I mean I know a bad cigar better than anybody else. I judge by the price only; if it costs above 5 cents, I know it to be …unsmokable.” Smoking cigars was a vice of Clemens, along with cursing and drinking. He could never quite manage to give up his bad habits although he occasionally tried, as his wife, Olivia, wasn’t fond of them.

These habits also became a part of Clemens’ persona of Mark Twain. Smoking cigars in particular was a recognizable affectation of the persona of Mark Twain, so much so that even the modern actor Hal Holbrook (1925-2021) included smoking cigars in his one-man impersonation show “Mark Twain Tonight.” Clemens deliberately kept his public image to include cigars, along with unruly hair and clothing and later the iconic white suit which he called his “dontcareadam suit.”

Along with his persona of “Mark Twain,” Clemens cleverly created Mark Twain brands and trademarks, including a Mark Twain Scrapbook which did earn Clemens an income for a while and a Mark Twain Memory Building game which never really took off. According to scholar David Davis, “Before the end of the 19th century, Mark Twain-branded cigars, tobacco insert cards, and flour were for sale here and there around the country. None of these are known to have been specifically authorized by Clemens. Apparently, his practice – when he was aware of them – was to tolerate their use of his name if he did not believe the products to impinge on his copyright revenues.”