In 1909, Thomas Edison visited author Mark Twain’s estate in Redding, Connecticut and took the only known recording of Twain in existence. The film was recorded only one year prior to Twain’s death, and was first used in a 1909 production of his The Prince and the Pauper.

Unfortunately, the film is silent, and there is no recording of Twain’s voice. In 1891, Twain tried to dictate his novella, An American Claimant into a phonograph, but the 48 wax cylinders he used were lost. In 1909, Twain read his stories into a phonograph at Edison’s laboratory in New York, but those recordings were destroyed in a fire in 1914. At any rate, enjoy the brief footage of one of America’s greatest all-time writers.

(via Mental Floss)