SUE OVER TWAIN BOOK
Trustees of Estate Ask Royalties for Its Publication
A suit seeking an injunction and an accounting of royalties on "A Murder and a Marriage," a novelette written by Mark Twain in 1876, was filed in Supreme Court yesterday by Thomas G. Chamberlain and the Central Hanover Bank and Trust Company as successor trustees under the will of Samuel L. Clemens, the author's true name.
The suit named as defendants Lew D. Feldman and Allan Hyman, and alleged that in 1945 "the defendants printed or caused to be printed the said sketch under the name 'A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage' by Mark Twain," and subsequently applied for a copyright. The trustees contend that the manuscript was not intended for publication.
Mr. Feldman, through his attorney and co-defendant, Mr. Hyman, denied improper publication of the manuscript. He said that on Jan. 8, 1945, he purchased the original manuscript at an auction sale held by the Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., and that the "purchase was an absolute one," granting him all rights of publication.
At the time of the sale it was announced that the manuscript, which was believed to be unpublished, brought $1,250.
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