Mark Twain Gavel

Mark Twain is one of Missouri’s most famous men and one of the most famous writers from the state. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, Twain was a novelist and humorist. His most famous works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), as well as The Prince and the Pauper (1881). Prior to taking up writing as his profession, Twain worked as a steamboat pilot, a profession that took him all the way to Europe during the 1860s, where he met his future wife, Olivia Langdon. In 1884, Twain established his own publishing company with his nephew, Charles L. Webster, where he subsequently published his own works. After writing and publishing extensively, Twain went on a world lecture tour before his death in 1910.¹

Mark Twain first became affiliated with Freemasonry in 1861. Twain was initially a member of Polar Star Lodge No. 79 in St. Louis, Missouri. Twain was likely drawn to the Lodge because many of its members were river pilots. Twain’s involvement in the Lodge was mild until his world tour and travels to Europe and Asia, where his interest in Masonry increased dramatically. He mused about the historical significance of his location while in Lebanon. This Masonic gavel demonstrates this, as the inscription on the handle describes how it was made of cedar wood taken from the forests of Lebanon.²

The inscription on the handle reads: “This Mallet is of Cedar cut in the Forest of Lebanon, whence Solomon obtained the Timbers for the Temple.  The handle was cut by Bro. Clemens himself from a cedar planted just outside the walls of Jerusalem by Bro. Godfrey De Bouillon, the first Christian Conqueror of that City, 19th of July, 1099.”

The other inscription reads: “The gavel in its present form was made at Alexandria, Egypt, by order of Bro. Clemens. From Bro. Sam’l L. Clemens (Mark Twain) to J. H. Pottenger, M.D. March 25, 1868 Presented to Polar Star Lodge No. 79 By J. H. Pottenger, W. M. April 8, 1868”.