Even though his books were best sellers, Mark Twain always needed money, mostly because he plowed his earnings into bad investments. Financial need probably no doubt led the perpetually white-suited author to give his endorsement to the Lackawanna’s clean-running trains in 1899. This is probably among the first celebrity ads ever. Display ads themselves were fairly new. Twain did have a residence in Elmira, NY, just across the PA/NY border. If you recall there are references to Twain and Elmira in It’s A Wonderful Life. Philip Van Doren Stern, the author of the short story that inspired that movie, was born in NE PA.