Twain busts, created half a century ago, maintains significant Hannibal presence

Capt. Steve and Sandy Terry pose behind a bust of Mark Twain created by Dr. Henry Sweets Jr., and his wife, Elizabeth, in the 1960s. Mr. and Mrs. Sweets worked under the name of S&S Art. This 20-inch statue is on display in the barge which leads to the Mark Twain Riverboat, docked at Hannibal’s riverfront. Contributed photo.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

A bust of the legendary author and humorist, Samuel L. Clemens, possesses a position of honor upon the barge which serves as the entrance to the aptly named Mark Twain Riverboat -  moored along Hannibal’s riverfront.

The 20-inch bust itself - a relic long ago abandoned in a vacated building in the 200 block of Broadway - was saved from oblivion by Sandy Terry - co-owner with her husband, Steve, of the aforementioned riverboat, They are former owners of the building on Broadway.

Capt. Steve Terry tells the story behind the acquisition:

Years ago, “we bought a building on Broadway, up the street from what was then a dry cleaners. It was a large duplex building that is still standing.”

For a period of time, they used this building as offices for the riverboat and associated business.

Items left inside the building when they bought it were to be thrown away.

The bust caught Sandy’s eye. “She wasn’t going to let that be thrown away,” Steve said. “She wanted it on the boat for display. She wasn’t going to let it be thrown in the dumpster.”

So from that day forward, the bust had a home on the barge, which also serves as the riverboat’s gift shop and office.

For all the years from then until now, quietly nestled into the front corner of the vessel, Mark Twain seems to keep an eye upon the seasonal visitors to the river that he so loved.

While the riverboat is an appropriate site for the likeness of Hannibal’s most famed citizen, Steve and Sandy Terry were clueless as to original source of the bust - until this week.

All they knew was that S&S Art with a copyright of 1966 was embossed on the back.

Library

In the teen room of the Hannibal Free Public Library, another bust is on permanent display. The bust, measuring 20 inches tall, is a popular attraction in the room dedicated to youth, located on the library’s main floor. The bust lives on the desk, when you walk in the door the desk is to the right, said Caitlyn Greathouse, library director. “The kids flirt with Mark Twain all the time.”

Long a part of the library’s inventory, the story of its origin was a mystery to the current staff.

Like the bust in the gift shop of the Mark Twain Riverboat, it is marked with copyright and S&S Art.

Ice cream shop

On a shelf inside of Becky’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor, 318 N. Main, exists a third in the series of busts with the same markings.

But this time, the bust’s origin is well known by Sara Anton North, who co-owns the parlor with her husband, Frank.

Back in days when Sara’s parents, Charles III and Ruth Anton operated Becky’s Gift Shoppe at 209 Hill St., in conjunction with Leroy S. and Hazel Richardson, they sold the busts in the store.

“They were the best busts available, ever,” Sara said.

“We were really sad, we were really disappointed when they quit making them; but everything has its time.”

When the Hill Street store closed and the next generation of the Anton family moved to the current location on North Main Street, they kept a bust.

“We have one of the large ones, and we’re very glad to have it,” Sara said. 

It has a pivotal spot in the store, within easy view of customers, and beyond hand reach of the curious.

So who was behind the company which made the busts?

S&S Arts

Henry Sweets III, retired executive director of the Mark Twain Home and Museum, was in high school in 1966. He, like Sara Anton North, remember where these busts originated.

“My father (Dr. Henry H. Sweets Jr.) had always been a fan of Mark Twain,” Henry said. The elder Henry worked with a local artist by the name of Ray Overlin to do a sculpture work on Mark Twain.

The busts were created from molds, cast out of plaster and finished with a varnish-like final coat.

S&S stood for Sweets and Sweets: Dr. Henry Sweets Jr., who operated Sweets Pathology Laboratory at 1003 Broadway, and his wife, Elizabeth (1910-1992).

“They made molds in three different sizes: 5 inches, 12 inches and 20 inches,” Henry III said of his parents.

In the summer of 1967, after graduating from high school, Henry III said he helped his parents with the project, then headed off to the University of Illinois in the fall.

“My father died in the spring of 1968; it was only a short period of time after they got the  copyright that he was alive.

“Eventually mother and a friend of hers, Doris Riedel, continued to make them,” Henry III said. Before the doctor’s death, Doris worked for Dr. Sweets at the Sweets Pathology Laboratory.

Henry III remembers that a couple of book shops may have sold the busts, including Jack Osterloh’s Mark Twain Book and Gift Shop at 213 Hill, and the aforementioned Becky’s Gift Shoppe at 209 Hill.

Narrative note

(As told by Mary Lou Montgomery)

Some years ago, a woman of mature age came into the Courier-Post newsroom. She brought with her a palm-size bust of Mark Twain. “I want you have this,” she said.

I didn’t know the source of the bust, or even her name. But I graciously accepted her gift. It remained on the bookshelf behind my desk until I retired at the end of 2014, then it followed me home, and ultimately to Tulsa in 2019.

That same year, my daughter, Katy, moved into a new home in Bixby, Okla., and decided to theme her guest bathroom in Mark Twain and Hannibal motif. She went “shopping” at my house, and came up with an appropriate assortment of items to honor her hometown and its most famous author.

Since that time, the palm-size bust of Mark Twain has had a prominent place in this dedicated room, and is a favorite conversation piece for her son, Jonah, who is fond of saying “Mark Twain has crazy eyebrows.”

Sara and Frank North recently shared with me the story of their long-standing business presence among the unique shops along Hannibal’s Historic District. I shared with Sara a photo of me wearing the Twain T-shirt I purchased at her store. She looked past the image of me, and noticed something unique in my hand: A palm-sized bust of Mark Twain, made by S&S Art.

She immediately recognized the source, and the story behind S&S Arts logo.

This information set me off on a journey to find out the history behind the Mark Twain busts.

And Henry Sweets helped me come to the conclusion that is was probably Doris Riedel (1919-2017) who gifted me the small bust before she left Hannibal in 2008.

Thank you, Doris. Mlm

This statue, posed with a combined copy of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, stands at five inches tall. It was gifted to Mary Lou Montgomery, possibly by Doris Riedel, prior to 2009. Mrs. Riedel worked as an assistant for Dr. Henry Sweets in his pathology lab, and after Dr. Sweet’s death, later helped Mrs. Sweets make busts from the pre-made molds. The busts were sold in local gift shops. Photo by Mary Lou Montgomery.

This photo shows a side view of the 20-inch Mark Twain bust, which is on display in the teen room of the Hannibal Free Public Library. Photo contributed by Caitlin Greathouse, library director.

In 1963, the world’s leading experts in the field of Forensic medicine gathered in London to attend a seven-day meeting at the London School of Pharmacy. Among those in attendance was Henry H. Sweets Jr., from Hannibal. Photo, Steve Chou Collection.