Tom Reigstad writes about Mark Twain in Buffalo

All of these topics found their way into the columns written by Twain more than 150 years ago, when he was co-owner and editor of the Buffalo Express, and these columns, along with the illustrations that accompanied them, are preserved in the microfilm archives of the newspaper.

Of course, in this form they are rarely seen, unless you love digging through Twain ephemera as much as Thomas J. Reigstad does.

Reigstad, professor emeritus of English at SUNY Buffalo State University, first learned of Twain’s time as a reporter in Buffalo (c. 1869-1871) about 50 years ago. He has since written a book about the period (“Scribblin’ for Livin’,” 2013 Prometheus Books) and has given “countless lectures” to interested audiences.

His latest work, “The Illustrated Mark Twain and the Buffalo Express” (North County Books, 112 pages, $26.95), lets Twain do most of the talking. With this elegantly slim collection of 10 columns written by Twain in Buffalo, Reigstad demonstrates the timeless quality of the writer’s thinking.

Plus, there are photos.

“I had a lot of fun putting this book together,” Reigstad said. “I researched 10 of (Twain’s) most comical stories that would still resonate today, and it’s interesting how current they are.”

In fact, many of these questions are remarkably familiar.

In addition to lamenting the commercial nature of Niagara Falls, which was already a leading tourist attraction at the time, Twain mocked America’s enduring fascination with royalty, described the perils of local journalism, and particularly liked deflate the rich and famous.

Associated with each story are drawings, woodcuts, and cartoons, themselves drawn from an unusual collection of sources, beginning with John Harrison Mills, Express engraver and friend of Twain. Others are by True Williams, who was the original illustrator of several of Twain’s books in the late 1800s, including “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

Jump forward a century with a series of cartoons created by former Buffalo News editorial cartoonist Tom Toles when he worked at the Courier Express in the late 1970s; and for more recent sketches by current News cartoonist Adam Zyglis. There’s also a drawing by Bill Watterson from 1983, before his “Calvin and Hobbes” fame, and even a wacky map of Paris by Twain that includes the Erie Canal, St. Cloud, and Podunk.

The humor and satire are accompanied by some interesting insights and bits of history. In “A Mysterious Visit,” Twain recounts his encounter with a taxman over questionable deductions, predicting his lifelong accounting problems.

And in the two-part “Curious Dream,” he explores the relocation of the “residents” of a cemetery on the southwest corner of Delaware and North. (There’s a Walgreens there now.) It was a few blocks from the Twain mansion in Delaware.

In Twain’s tale, a forgotten member of the departed laments: “My grandson lives in a stately house built with money earned by my old hands, and I sleep in a neglected grave with encroaching vermin…. We must fight to keep the skull and bones together. This ends with the skeletons being moved, taking broken coffins with them. The cemetery itself was eventually emptied and the remains moved to Forest Lawn and elsewhere.

Reigstad’s concise commentary provides useful context, but in general he lets Twain speak for himself. It’s a clear, quick read that reveals a lot about the legendary author and the city in which he briefly lived.

The author will speak and sign his books from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 17 at Westside Stories (398 Grant St.) and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 28 at 42 North Brewing (25 Pine St., East Aurora).

He will also do a joint book signing with local authors Mark Hannon and Lissa Marie Redmond from noon to 3 p.m. May 25 at Book Corner (1801 Main St., Niagara Falls). For more events, visit thomasreigstad.com.