"Ein amerikanischer Humorist." Grenzboten 33 (1874), 306-314 | Entry page
H.B. [Hans Blum]. "Ein amerikanischer Humorist. (Mark Twain.) Die Grenzboten 33 (1874) 2. Semester, 2. Band, 306-314.
In this nine-page article, lawyer, politician, and publicist Hans Blum introduced the American humorist Mark Twain to the readers of the periodical Die Grenzboten. It appears to be the first comprehensive description and critical appreciation of Mark Twain's work in Germany. The structure of Blum's article combines biographical information on Mark Twain with paraphrases and translated passages from his early work, supplemented by his remarks on the specific characteristics and quality of Mark Twain's writing. Like the articles that follow in future issues of Die Grenzboten, this piece might have been designed to draw attention to the first translation of selections from Mark Twain's works in book form published by the Grunow publishing company, which also owned Die Grenzboten.