By Scott A. Grant
mail@floridanewsline.com
In the spring of 1884, Mark Twain was in trouble. Despite being one of the most prolific and popular writers in American history, he was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Twain was a life-long victim of his own bad investments.
Despite his famous adage that “There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate: when he can’t afford it, and when he can,” Twain had an overwhelming need to speculate. Later in life, he famously turned down an opportunity to invest in Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone company and instead sank most of his life savings into the Paige Typesetter.
The Paige Typesetter sought to automate the job of setting type — a laborious task largely unchanged since Gutenberg invented moveable type in 1450. When the new device, which weighed four tons, worked it was a marvel. It rarely worked. Twain had the misfortune to see the automatic typesetting machine on a day that it worked.
That was in the future. Twain’s current financial distress was caused by other investment mistakes including the collapse of the Fredonia watch company. In an attempt to recover his fortune, Twain started a publishing company and cast his eyes about for something to publish.
Meanwhile, Ulysses S. Grant was in even more desperate straits. The hero of the Civil War is noted for being one the best generals and worst presidents this nation has ever produced. After serving eight years in the White House, Grant went on a tour around the world. When he came home, he founded an investment company at the behest of his son called Grant & Ward. Ferdinand Ward, a friend of Ulysses Jr., was considered a financial wizard. Grant invested all of his savings in the firm. This was a mistake. It turned out that Ward was running a giant Ponzi scheme.
US Grant found himself destitute and dying of throat cancer. To provide for his family, Grant decided to write his memoirs. He negotiated, but did not sign, a contract with a publisher. Then Twain showed up. He wanted the book, which he was certain would be a bestseller. He convinced the president that he would make more money going with Twain.
Over the next 11 months, Grant huddled on the porch of a cabin near Saratoga Springs wrapped in a blanket and a stocking cap, writing feverishly. “I pray God,” he wrote his wife, “that [I] may be spared to complete the necessary work upon my book.” Finally, on July 20, 1885, Grant finished his 291,000-word, two-volume, work. Three days later, he died.
As Twain predicted, the book was a huge success. More than 350,000 copies were sold prior to publication, thanks to a unique sales campaign that saw Twain send Union veterans door-to-door selling advance copies of the book by subscription. Twain’s new publishing venture had two successes that first year: “The Personal Memoirs of US Grant” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Grant outsold Huckleberry by a large margin and Twain was able to pay Grant’s widow more than $450,000 in royalties. Unfortunately for Twain, he did not have many more publishing successes and the company went bankrupt in 1894.
Scott A. Grant is a local writer and Investment Advisor. He welcomes your comments at scottg@standfastic.com.
