Mark Twain Side Tear Checks

A Typographic Blunder

When Otto Mergenthaler was inventing what was to become his wildly successful Linotype machine, Mark Twain was investing much of his wife's family fortune in the development of an automatic typesetter, too.

Mergenthaler caught wind of Twain's involvement and proposed that they take out a 50-50 interest in each other's projects. He theorized that one of their machines was bound to succeed, and since both men were passionate about the same idea, Mergenthaler suggested they also share the invention's risk and potential reward.

Too bad that Twain refused: the contraption he backed never typeset more than a few words at a time before breaking, whereas the Linotype became a workhorse of the printing industry that remained in service until the advent of the personal computer.

It was a tragic twist in Twain's life, and one that every reader should know.

Now that you're enlightened, don't delay -- make our Mark Twain Side Tear Checks yours today!