Robbins Hunter Museum Presents: "Ain't It a Shame What We've Done to Mark Twain"

"Ain't It A Shame What We've Done to Mark Twain"

A lecture by curator Thomas Wortham, PhD

Thomas Wortham, former chairman of the UCLA English Department, and now retired at Buckeye Lake, is an expert on Mark Twain and his masterpiece, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Over the years, Wortham amassed a staggering collection of toys and tchotchkes inspired by the novel, including beer steins, coloring books, Cabbage Patch dolls, shot glasses, sheet music, and even shampoo. Wortham contends that Huck and his adventures were the country's first pop culture merchandising phenomenon - and the novel's powerful and artistically sophisticated insights about the United States have suffered as a result. A selection from Wortham's collection will be on display from April 5th through October 31st.

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