As Samuel Clemens became ever more successful as the public figure–Mark Twain–people across the country wanted to meet and talk with the quintessential American. And, in a world without regular security firms or gated communities, it was relatively easy for people to do so. Some of the people who made their way into the Clemenses home became friends, others simply acquaintances, and occasionally enemies. Samuel also liked to seek out the company of other creatives–he had many friends among the burgeoning literary and art scenes in America.

As he developed his many business side hustles, seeking financial stability, Clemens also befriended other prominent public figures of the day who might bring him a business advantage. He actively courted public figures such as Ulysses S. Grant, former Union General and ex-President, and Sir Henry Morton Stanley, known for exploring Central Africa and his brutal administration of Belgian colonial interests under authority from King Leopold II, hoping to publish their memoirs. And while Samuel held very strong anti-imperialist beliefs, which he published regularly, he was very willing to publish the work of one of Central Africa’s more notorious agents of imperialism, Henry Stanley.

Clemens was also friends with, and an admirer of southern writers such as Joel Chandler Harris and Grace KIng, both of whom expressed support for the lost cause of the Confederacy and pro-slavery views. At the same time, Samuel became close friends with author George Washington Cable, a prominent critic of the post-bellum South. Where Clemens’ true beliefs about any of these topics lay can be difficult to parse, but there can be no doubt that he valued the company of creatives and built an active community of creative friends and associates.

Click on the photographs below to learn more about some of these friends and visitors.