At just about 3″ long, this little boat won’t be taking on human passengers any time soon. But it can provide a very valuable service to aspiring writers out there!

Behold the Mark Twain Riverboat Brass Pencil Sharpener:

I saw this in a charity shop for just 50 cents and couldn’t resist buying it! It reminded me of the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland. That attraction opened in 1955 to take passengers on a scenic 12-minute journey around the Rivers of America. That boat is a stern-wheeler while this toy version is a dual side-wheeler.

This Mark Twain is in Dry Dock to help writers with their rewrites and mistakes. Do you create your stories in pen? No worries, the Mark Twain will wait for you to come to your senses and to grab a pencil.

Made in Hong Kong. I haven’t figured out yet how to empty the shavings. I think you may have to remove the screw shown above.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better remembered as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. Walt Disney loved him so much that he named his paddle wheeler after him. I imagine he did this also because it circled Tom Sawyer’s Island, named after one of Twain’s most famous fictional characters.

There is another version of this sharpener out there. It has two extra steam stacks on the front and the ‘Mark Twain’ name is printed in red on the plastic windows instead of cast in the metal like mine. Either version could be expected to fetch about $10.00 US or more.

I do have a Disneyland Bracelet that features the Mark Twain Riverboat, as well as a wonderful old LP record featuring Harold Holbrook Jr. as the bard entitled Mark Twain Tonight! You can hear a clip as he regales us with a tale lifted from the writings of the real man himself. Enjoy!