Submitted by scott on

December 10 Thursday – Karl Gerhardt wrote more about the death mask matter, Grant to Gerhardt Dec. 7 enclosed [MTP].

December 10-13? Sunday – Sam wrote from the Normandie Hotel in New York City, probably sometime in this period, to Charles Webster regarding the use of General Grant’s death mask, which Gerhardt had made. Controversy grew surrounding the possession of the mask.

I think I’ll insist on Gerhardt yielding up the mask unconditionally—then if you get Mrs. Grant to allow Gerhardt the first or exclusive use of it for a time, she can do that as a favor to you or me, & maybe it will come easier. However, I’ll see how Gerhardt feels about it—though I think that if he yields unconditionally it may really be the better for him [MTP].

From Perry, p.237:

“Karl Gerhardt reentered the life of the Grant family, casting the general’s death mask. But he refused to turn it over to the family until he was paid $17,000. Julia Grant was enraged by this demand and refused. Twain was embarrassed. To resolve the issue, he paid Gerhardt $10,000 from his own funds. The last Twain heard of Gerhardt, he was an itinerant minister, preaching fire and brimstone in revivals staged in rural Louisiana, where he died.”

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Home at Hartford: Day By Day
Editor Note
From Wikipedia: Over time, Clemens became increasingly dissatisfied with Gerhardt's constant demands for funds and his lack of gratitude. Putting his disappointment aside, Clemens passed along Gerhardt's request to Adam Badeau, Grant's military secretary, to cast the death mask of the terminally ill President Grant. Grant's son Fred agreed to the request. After President Grant had died and the death mask had been cast, Gerhardt refused to give the mask to Grant's family, asserting that the mask was his personal property. Clemens was dismayed by Gerhardt's refusal, and intervened when the family threatened Gerhardt with a lawsuit. Clemens agreed to forgive all debts that Gerhardt owed to Clemens and his wife, an amount of $17,000, in return for returning the mask to Grant's family. It is not known if Clemens was aware at the time that Gerhardt had secretly made a second death mask of Grant.

In the mid- to late 1880s, Gerhardt received commissions for memorial statues in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Pennsylvania. Gerhardt's wife gave birth to a son, Lawrence, in 1890. In the late 1880s, Clemens faced financial difficulties of his own due to investment failures. He closed his mansion in Hartford in 1891 and moved with his family to Europe. Gerhard's sole patron would no longer be able to help him find work. Gerhardt's commissions had decreased dramatically by 1891 and he eventually sought work as a draftsman and machinist. In 1897, Gerhardt was working for bicycle manufacturer, Pope Manufacturing Company in Hartford.

Gerhardt's wife died in 1897 succumbing to tetanus after being injured by a rusty nail. By 1906, Gerhardt had moved to New Orleans. In 1909, it was reported by the New Orleans Times Democrat that the famous sculptor was struggling financially and working as a manual laborer. By 1920, Gerhardt had moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, and was working as a tailor. Gerhardt died May 7, 1940, in Shreveport.

Day By Day Acknowledgment

Mark Twain Day By Day was originally a print reference, meticulously created by David Fears, who has generously made this work available, via the Center for Mark Twain Studies, as a digital edition.