Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) Playing Cards Quips, Quotes and Illustrations on Every Card Poker Sized Playing Cards Special Cards: Info Card and 2 different Jokers Illustrations by Jan Padover Mark Twain Playing Cards ~ Mark Twain (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910) ~ Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which provided the setting for Tom Sawyer (1876) and Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter called "the first great American novel." He was a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to Nevada, where after a lack of success at mining, he turned to journalism. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers. He is considered the "father of American literature." The illustrations featured on these cards are watercolored pen and ink drawings by Jan Padover.