What are the framed checks on the billiard room wall all about?
They are copies of royalty checks for $200,000 and $150,000 from the sales of the memoirs of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, made out to Grant’s widow, Julia Grant. Clemens’ publishing company published the book in 1885-86, carrying out Grant’s wish to provide for his family. Grant had died just months before the book’s publication.
