1835–1910 · Writers

Mark Twain signature

American writer and humorist, 1835–1910

Inspired by Mark Twain’s signature

A rendering in a modern handwriting font, made for this page. It is not the real signature; see where to view the original below. Where to see the original ↓Style: Allison, slant 6°

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Who Mark Twain was

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, in 1835 and died in Redding, Connecticut, in 1910. A printer, Mississippi riverboat pilot and newspaper reporter before he became famous, he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a long run of travel books and sketches.

He first used the pen name Mark Twain, a riverboat call for two fathoms of water, as a Nevada newspaperman in 1863. From then on he lived with two names, and his signatures show it.

The story of the signature

Clemens never stopped being Clemens. Contracts, bank papers and many personal letters carry “S. L. Clemens” or “Samuel L. Clemens”, while autograph requests, inscribed books and letters to admirers usually got “Mark Twain”.

The line between the two was not strict. In 1898, while living in Vienna, he answered two letters from the Austrian peace campaigner Bertha von Suttner: the February reply is signed Samuel L. Clemens, the March one Mark Twain. Both are now at the Missouri History Museum.

Because people asked him for autographs constantly, he often added a short line or maxim above the name, which turned a signature into a small piece of writing. His papers, including thousands of his letters, are held by the Mark Twain Papers and Project at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

What makes it distinctive

Two names

Mark Twain for the public, S. L. Clemens for legal and family matters, chosen to suit the reader.

Mourning paper

The 1898 letters are on black-bordered mourning stationery, used after the death of his daughter Susy in 1896.

Plain and readable

Both names are written clearly, without a large flourish, so a reader can tell at once who signed.

Words above the name

Autographs often came with a sentence or a joke, written in the same hand as the signature.

How to give your signature a similar feel

In the signature generator Type tab, try Allison or Mr De Haviland with a Slant of around 6°. Both have the quick, personal feel of a working writer’s hand.
If you write under a pen name, a business name or a nickname, make two signatures: one formal, one friendly. Save both as transparent PNGs.
Give the first capital room. Enlarge the Size until the opening letter dominates, then check that the rest stays legible.
Write a short line above your signature in the Draw tab for cards and inscriptions. It is the Twain habit that works best today.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about Mark Twain’s signature

Did Mark Twain sign as Mark Twain or Samuel Clemens?

Both. He used Mark Twain for readers and autographs and S. L. Clemens or Samuel L. Clemens for legal, business and many personal papers.

Where does the name Mark Twain come from?

It was a call used by Mississippi riverboat crews meaning two fathoms, about 3.7 metres, of water. Clemens first used it as a pen name in 1863.

Where are his letters kept?

The largest collection is the Mark Twain Papers at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, with many others in libraries and museums across the US.