Include The Mark Twain House & Museum in your holiday celebrations! 

There are several ways to take part:  

Give a Loved One the Gift of Membership!

Know a Twain, literature, or history lover? Gift them a membership to The Mark Twain House & Museum! All members receive free admission to the House and Museum, year-round discounts in the Museum Store and Nook Farm Café, members-only events/programs, discounts and first notice on many of our events, and a subscription to our e-newsletter. Purchase a gift membership here!

You can also purchase a gift membership in person at our Museum Center. Please note we are closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

Make an end-of-year donation!

Remember to include The Mark Twain House & Museum in your end-of-year gift-giving plans. A contribution to our General Fund, or a gift in memory or in honor of a loved one, will be put to use immediately, providing support for Twain’s historic home, exhibits, collections, programs - everything you love at The Mark Twain House & Museum! 

To make a donation online, visit our website.

Prefer to send a check? Just make it out to “The Mark Twain House & Museum” and send to:  

Development Office

The Mark Twain House & Museum

351 Farmington Avenue

Hartford, CT 06105

For more information, contact the Development Office at 860-280-3113 or email [email protected].

Help Restore a vital piece in the museum's collection personally owned by Mark Twain!

Steam-Ship Quaker City is a 22.25" x 35.5” lithograph on paper, hand-colored with watercolors, owned by Mark Twain. It illuminates a significant and defining aspect of Mark Twain’s life and career, as it was the ship that Twain sailed on in 1867 for the five-month cruise to Europe and the “Holy Land” that he immortalized in his book, Innocents Abroad. This book was his first major success and was his best-selling book during his lifetime. And it led to his strong belief that exposure to other cultures broadened one’s views and made one more tolerant. As he famously wrote in Innocents Abroad: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” And, the Quaker City also determined the future of his personal life. He met his beloved wife Olivia through her brother, a fellow passenger on the ship.

The lithograph has media losses and flaking that need to be addressed, staining that needs to be cleaned, and is mounted to a paper board that is acidic and degrading the back of the print, which must be removed to prevent further degradation.

The cost of restoring this priceless piece that was personally owned by Mark Twain is $4,100.  We are 55% to goal. Will you help us raise the rest?

All of us at The Mark Twain House & Museum extend our heartfelt thanks to the hundreds of individuals and institutions who make contributions to our programs, exhibits, and operations. Thank you for understanding that ticket sales and program fees do not cover the entire cost of running the museum, and that we rely on support from the community to make up the rest.

Together, we can continue to preserve the home and legacy of Mark Twain, so he can be celebrated for as long as words matter!