The unpublished "A Family Sketch" was a 64-page, handwritten manuscript that Twain wrote around 1896 or 1897 for Olivia "Susy" Clemens, who inspired some of his stories and even wrote her own biography of her father. The document also reminisced about his own childhood and was described as the missing chapter of his autobiography.
"What initially began as a tribute to his late -- and undisputed favorite -- daughter Susy thus devolved into a narrative that encompasses the whole of this family and friends as well as glimpses of incidents of his own childhood," auctioneer Sotheby's said in a statement. It had been estimated that the document would sell at Sotheby's for between $120,000 to $160,000, but the price soared as four bidders competed for the manuscript. The sale price, a record for an autographed manuscript by Twain at auction, includes the buyer's premium. Sotheby's said it sold to an unidentified New York trade buyer.
