|
The Mark Twain Bookstore evolved from a local family owned business that started in the 1950s here in Virginia City. Originally it was Mark Twain Museum of Memories which was a victorian period oriented museum located in this building and operated by donations from visitors. In 1990 the business was handed down in the family to its current owners and operators, Joe and Ellie Curtis. In 1994, due to popular public demand for historical books and information on the Comstock area and the west, the museum aspect was decommissioned and the Mark Twain Historical Bookstore was established.
Since1994 the Mark Twain Bookstore, has grown in demand but maintained as the same small, friendly, browsable, bookstore that it was as a museum. Many of the artifacts from the original museum portion were left on the walls of the interior and the books were placed in and around them. It really is a small museum and bookstore all rolled into one room. The ambiance of the store has an intoxicating aspect to it. You really steep yourself into the history. The store, of course specializes in the history of the opening of the west. From womens studies, Victoriana, good guys, bad guys, Native Americans, childrens material, mining and ghost towning to geology, backroads travel, hiking, flora/fauna and early railroads, explorers and many other historical aspects.
As you may, or may not know, Samuel L. Clemens came to Nevada and Virginia City in 1861 and left Virginia City in 1864 as Mark Twain, after having worked for the local premier newspaper. We maintain the largest stock of in print and out of print Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) books andmaterial in America. Nevada history and history of the Comstock Lode is our secondary forte. We maintain probably the largest collection of original photographs and negatives of the early Comstock available anywhere.
Reprints of these photos can be purchased by special order in several standard sizes. Research materials for writers, geneologists and admirers of the Comstock are available. Want to know where your relatives lived when they were in Virginia City? Review our old maps and directories. The owners readily discuss with daily customers the early Virginia City history.
Historical documents pertaining to early Nevada history are available for purchase. Original banking, railroad, stocks, billheads, mining and other historical documents can be purchased.
An extensive selection of old, rare and out of print Twain, Nevada history, minining, childrens victorian era, early western womens studies and opening of the west books is available in the store. Twain first and early edition material is always in stock or can be located. This material is not shown on the web site as one really needs to browse it, feel it, smell it and possibly drool over it in the store to really appreciate it.
Come see it. We also can do special searches for you to find that special Twain or old western history book you have been trying to find for so many years.
The building housing the Mark Twain Bookstore is one of the oldest buildings in Virginia City, built in 1862. It survived the Great Fire of October 25, 1875. It housed the offices of the Nevada Bank of San Francisco which was owned by the Silver Kings and provided financing for many of the mines and mills of the area. The specific section in which the Bookstore is now located was Frederick's Paints Oils and Hardware from 1862 to the 1930s. It then served as a garage and gas station and auto parts up till the 1950s when the Mark Twain Museum was placed in it.
Virginia City, the Comstock Lode, was known as the Richest Place on Earth for the gold and silver taken from the underground mines located here which far exceeded the value of what was removed from the California mother lode area. In todays (2004) dollars, the value taken from the mines in Virginia City would be in the neighborhood of four to six billion dollars.
Not a rough and tumble cowboy town, it was a highly sophisticated, high society, wealthy community of opera houses, the finest of eateries, snazziest of saloons, best of entertainment and beautiful homes all located at the 6,200 foot level on the side of of Mt. Davidson. It even had its own Stock Exchange to service the publically owned mines and mills of the Comstock which connected directly, via telegraph, to the San Francisco Stock Exchange then on to New York. It of course had its sordid side of life and criminal element but was considered a pretty classy city which produced many firsts in terms of industrial development primarily related to the mining industry. The money made by mine and mill owners left the Comstock and financed much of the real development of San Franciso and the Bay area, southern California, industrial innovations around the world and even the first trans-Atlantic telephone cable.
Today, Virginia City is a thriving tourist based community sporting many of the all original buildings on the main street, old mansions and homes, restored structures, and other historical features. It is the largest federally designated Historical Landmark in America. Located just 26 miles from downtown Reno, Nevada (40 minutes), 15 miles from Carson City (25 minutes) and 45 miles from South Lake Tahoe (1 hour). The roads are maintained open all year around...just like the saloons.
So come visit the Mark Twain Historical Bookstore for all your western history and Mark Twain needs and an experience in the old mining west of Virignia City that you will never forget.
We are Alive and Kicking in downtown Virginia City. |
