[Civil War] Grant, Ulysses SBiblio.com
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188528635New York:: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885 1886. First Printing of the First US Edition. Two Volumes Complete. A Very Good plus tight set in green cloth bindings stamped in gold on the spine and front covers with light wear to the spine edges and slight discoloration to the front board of Volume 1. This set is complete with the facsimile letter of Grant's original terms for Lee's surrender that is often missing. Mark Twain was the publisher of this monumental memoir as well as its editor and proof reader. Twain was extremely fond of and a close friend of Grant and encouraged the President and war hero to write his memoirs. Grant was dying of throat cancer but completed his two volume opus dictating the second volume to a secretary. Twain noted in a letter to his daughter that the manuscript was not even set yet and 20000 sets had been ordered from only two states. "Wait till you hear from the other 37." Grant finished his memoirs on July 18 1885 and died five days later on July 23rd. Following his death advance orders of the memoirs reached 300000 sets realizing close to $450000 for his family which was otherwise penniless. In a 1992 New York Times book review General Schwarzkopf is quoted as using Grant's two-volume work as his model calling it the finest military history of the Civil War. Charles L. Webster & Company, hardcover
1885151234New York: D. Appleton and Company 1885. Finely bound editions of Badeau’s important “eyewitness estimation of Grant’s performance during the war†a continuation of Grant's Personal Memoirs. Octavo Vols. II and III of three volumes original publisher's cloth stamped in gilt and black. Presentation copy inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper of Vol. III in the year of publication "James C. Hunter Esq with compliments of A Badeau Xmas 1885." In very good. Rare signed by Badeau. Military History of Ulysses S. Grant by Union Brigadier General Adam Badeau—Grant’s aide-de-camp close associate and later literary collaborator—constitutes a substantial posthumous extension of Grant’s own narrative. Having served on Grant’s staff for much of the Civil War Badeau had sustained access to official correspondence operational planning and internal military deliberations. Although Grant’s Personal Memoirs 1885–1886 were completed shortly before his death Badeau assisted in their preparation and subsequently undertook a multi-volume study that expanded the documentary and analytical framework of Grant’s campaigns. Drawing upon wartime dispatches reports and private papers the work presents a detailed operational history while also engaging contemporary debates concerning command decisions and strategic coherence. As a result Military History of Ulysses S. Grant occupies an important position within late nineteenth-century Civil War historiography combining firsthand administrative proximity with retrospective analysis grounded in documentary sources. D. Appleton and Company hardcover
187255322Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office 1872. First edition. Softcover. vg. Octavo. 14pp. No wrappers with printed text starting on the first page.<br /> <br /> The printed text date May 14th 1872 relays an official Executive Communication from U.S President Ulysses S. Grant granting the United States Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations' previous request for information concerning the ongoing persecution of Jews in Romania and authorizing the transfer of said information from the U.S. State Department. The information here remitted to the Senate consists of a series of 14 pieces of correspondence dated October 6th 1871 - May 13th 1872 between the then U.S Consul to Romania Benjamin F. Piexotto 1834-1890 Second Assistant Secretary of State William Hunter Jr. 1805-1886 and U.S Secretary of State Hamilton Fish 1808-1893. The initial sections include the President's order the Secretary of State's introductory statement and a full list of correspondences included in chronological order.<br /> <br /> In the 1860s and 70s - following newly established autonomy from the Ottoman empire the unification of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia and the ascendancy of the newly elected Prince Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza - Romania saw a new extreme wave of anti-Semitic measures laws and attitudes. At the prompting of their respective Jewish citizens a number of countries in the international community voiced their opposition to these developments and sought to put pressure on the new Romanian government. In 1870 the United States entered the fray with the appointment of Jewish-American lawyer Benjamin F. Piexotto 1834-1890 as the new American consul in Bucharest. <br /> <br /> Piexotto served in Romania from 1871-1876 and was able to improve the conditions for Romania Jews during his tenure. He promoted the ideas of the Haskalah The Jewish Enlightenment and modernization to the community and among his numerous endeavors was responsible for improvements in modern Jewish education through the establishment of the Society for the culture of the Israelites in Roumania Societate Pentra Cultura Israelit Romania. Piexotto also funded the Roumänische Post in an effort to combat anti-Semitism in the Romanian Press. Ultimately his efforts are credited for strengthening Jewish community structures in the country and ultimately laying the groundwork for eventual Jewish emancipation as allowed for in the provisions of the 1878 Treaty of Berlin. <br /> <br /> Minor age toning and smudges to pages throughout. In overall very good condition. Protected in modern mylar. Full title: Message from the President of the United States Communicating In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of March 28th 1872 correspondence in regard to the persecution and oppression of Isrealites in Roumania.<br /> <br /> Resource: <br /> Gartner Lloyd P. Roumania America and World Jewry: Consul Peixotto in Bucharest 1870–1876. American Jewish Historical Quarterly Vol. 58 No. 1 September 1968 pp. 24-56 59-117. [United States Government Printing Office] unknown
1885049078New York: Charles L. Webster & Co. 1885. First edition 1885 and 1886 recently rebound and housed in a slipcase. Three quarter dark brown morocco leather over marbled boards slightly raised spine bands spine lettered and decorated in gilt including four stars on each spine top edges gilt new marbled endpapers. The original gilt medallions from the original covers have been used on the sides of the slipcase which is complimentary to the dark brown leather and marbled book bindings. Includes the printed inscription dedicating the set to the American soldier and sailor near the beginning of the first volume a folding facsimile of Lee's surrender printed on yellow paper in the second volume several tissue-protected engravings maps including a folding map in the second volume. Very good to near fine condition with tissue protected frontises having some offsetting to the tissues some light foxing to the preliminaries of the second volume tight bindings very clean pages no names or other markings. The medallions on the slipcase show some rubbing otherwise about fine. All the marbled paper used in the bindings matches but there is a slightly different tonality to the front cover of volume II does not appear to be fading. Bindings are by Paul Sawyer of Daytona Beach Florida. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Charles L. Webster & Co. Hardcover
1864101729Np New York: For sale by all News Agents. Price $1 per 100. 1864. 4to. Broadside text in two columns; creased from prior folding and split at creases some toning and paper clip rust staining. Republic campaign broadside reprinting an interview with Lincoln by former Wisconsin State Assemblyman Joseph T. Mills and former state Governor Alexander Williams Randall. Lincoln vigorously defends the use of Black soldiers in the Union Army against Democratic candidate McClellan's strategy of leniency towards Southern States rejoining the Union: "The slightest knowledge of Arithmetic will prove to any man that the rebel armies cannot be destroyed with Democratic strategy. It would sacrifice all the white men of the North to do it. There are now in the service of the United States near 200000 able-bodied colored men most of them under arms defending and acquiring Union territory. The Democratic strategy demands that these forces be disbanded and that the masters be conciliated by restoring them to slavery. Will you give our enemies such military advantages. to get them back into the Union Abandon all the posts now garrisoned by black men take 200000 men from our side and put them in the battle-field or corn-field against us and we would be compelled to abandon the war in three weeks. . There have been men base enough to propose to me to return to slavery the black warriors of Port Hudson and Olustee and thus win the respect of the masters they fought. Should I do so I should deserve to be damned in time and eternity. My enemies pretend I am now carrying on this war for the sole purpose of abolition. So long as I am president it shall be carried on for the sole purpose of restoring the Union. But no human power can subdue this Rebellion without the use of the emancipation policy and every other policy calculated to weaken the moral and physical forces of the Rebellion." This is the first separate printing of the interview which was first published as "The Loyal Road to Peace and the Disloyal Road to Ruin President Lincoln on Democratic Strategy" in the Wisconsin Grant County Herald August 1864. The broadside also prints Grant's letter to E.B. Washbourne "The Rebels have now in their ranks their last man. The little boys and old men are guarding prisoners guarding railroad bridges and forming a good part of their garrisons for entrenched positions " and a poem by Bayard Taylor on the Democrats' presidential nominating convention. REFERENCE: Sabin 41157; Weinstein Against the Tide 141 For sale by all News Agents. Price, $1 per 100. unknown
188528077New York:: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885. First Printing of the First US Edition. This is a Near Fine tight set with light wear to the extremities in the publisher's full brown calf leather binding with black leather tips. There is slight moisture bleed in Volume 1. The spine title is red leather and the volume label is black. The rear hinges of each volume have been reinforced. This set includes the facsimile letter of Grant's original terms for Lee's surrender laid in. Mark Twain was the publisher of this monumental memoir as well as its editor and proof reader. Twain was extremely fond of and a close friend of Grant and encouraged the President and war hero to write his memoirs. Grant was dying of throat cancer but completed his two volume opus dictating the second volume to a secretary. Twain noted in a letter to his daughter that the manuscript was not even set yet and 20000 sets had been ordered from only two states. "Wait till you hear from the other 37." Grant finished his memoirs on July 18 1885 and died five days later on July 23rd. Following his death advance orders of the memoirs reached 300000 sets realizing close to $450000 for his family which was otherwise penniless. In a 1992 New York Times book review General Schwarzkopf is quoted as using Grant's two-volume work as his model calling it the finest military history of the Civil War. Charles L. Webster & Company, hardcover
188547293New York: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885. Very Good. New York: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885 1886. First Edition. Two large octavo volumes; rebound in modern full brown morocco with leather labels and raised bands to spine; all edges marbled new marbled endpapers; 584pp. & 647pp. All maps illustrations and foldouts present including frontispieces with tissue guards. Mild shelfwear to boards; bindings sound; chipping to endpapers along margins with professional repair; light staining and toning; overall a Very Good and sound set in full leather.<br /> <br /> Nevins notes: "Written frantically while in a race with death these recollections rank with the best of the Civil War Period" Nevins II-59. Charles L. Webster & Company unknown
188370888Paris: A. Quantin imprimeur-éditeur rue Saint-Benoît 1883. 16mo pp. 4 vi 220; 14 oval cul-de-lampe vignette engravings in the text by Méaulle printed in color after watercolors by Meyeré; text within chromolithograph border contemporary and likely original full blue morocco by Kauffmann gilt rules on covers with fleurons in the corners smooth gilt-decorated spine laid out in 3 compartments gilt-lettered direct in 1 t.e.g.; fine throughout. Bookplate of B. Franklin and Helen G. Hadduck. Issued as no. 10 in the publisher's Petits Chefs-d'Oeuvre Antiques series. Laid in is a one-page autograph letter signed dated May 7 1911 from Henry C. Folger to "Dear Dr. Furness -- Emily and I hope the little Horace sent in a separate package has escaped your drag-net; or if you have a copy you will keep this for its condition." Mills College Check List 1874a. A. Quantin, imprimeur-éditeur, rue Saint-Benoît unknown
1865146695New York: W. J. Widdleton 1865. Early printing of this anecdotal history of eatery; from the library of the eighteenth President of the United States. Octavo bound in contemporary three quarter calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands morocco spine labels all edges marbled marbled endpapers. Ulysses S. Grant's bookplate to the front pastedown. In very good condition. Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States 1869–77. As Commanding General of the United States Army 1864–69 Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War. He implemented Congressional Reconstruction often at odds with Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery protect African-American citizenship and supported unbridled nationwide industrial expansionism during the Gilded Age. W. J. Widdleton hardcover
1881261Grant3<p><strong>MILITARY HISTORY OF ULYSSES GRANT. </strong></p><p><strong>FIRST EDITION. </strong></p><p><strong>PRINTED IN 1881.</strong></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><strong>Complete with all fold out maps in the rear pockets. </strong></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><strong>Complete in 3 massive volumes. </strong></p><p><strong>10 inches tall. </strong></p><p><br /><br /><br /></p><p><strong>These are the original leather bindings. </strong></p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p><strong>This set precedes his personal memoirs that were not published until 1885. </strong></p><p><strong>Hinges are all fully attached and sound. Set has some light external shelf rubs and abrasions. Early name on second blank end paper. Some light generalized usage wear. Maps may have some minor splits as is to be expected. In remarkable and highly presentable condition. Leather still supple. These would make an excellent gift or addition to any fine library. </strong></p><p><br /><br /></p><p>Military History of Ulysses S. Grant from April 1861 to April 1865 Leathe - Printed in 1881</p><p>by Badeau Adam</p><p>New York: D. Appleton and Company 1881. First edition as a complete set; First edition. Original bindings. Very Good or better. 3 vol. Large 8vo. 3 iv-xiii 3 1-683 1 4 pages of publisher's advertisements; 3 iv-x 3 2-591 1 2 pages of publisher's advertisements 2; 3 iv-ix 4 2-733 1 1-4 2 pages of publisher's advertisements pp. Half pebbled green leather over marbled paper boards spines lettered in gilt; all edges marbled. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns.</p><p>Volume one illustrated with a frontispiece and with 18 maps most of which are folding at the end of the volume with an additional map in the rear pastedown pocket of volume one.</p><p>Volume two illustrated with seven maps most of which are folding at the end of the volume and with one map in the rear pastedown pocket.</p><p>Volume three illustrated with eight maps most of which are folding and with three maps in the rear pastedown pocket.</p><p>Dornbusch 1994. Nevins I 22. Nicholson 51. Nevins lists this set as 1885 but each of our set's title pages states 1881. The true first edition of volume one was published independently in 1868. The first editions of volumes two and three were published in 1881. Our volumes two and three are first editions our volume one is the true first as a collected set and was published in 1881 uniformly with volumes two and three. Badeau worked for Grant as a military aide. Some rubbing to the boards' corners and to the leather else a lovely set. Highly worthy of gifting.</p><p><br /><br /><br /></p><p><strong>Each book will be individually wrapped and well protected for shipping. </strong></p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p>26.1.i</p>
1885002632Charles L. Webster & Company. No DJ as issued. Bright gilt lettered and decorated cover and spines. Gilt stamped portrait medallion of Grant on front covers. Nice bright set. Foldouts fine. Includes the printed inscription by Grant that " These volumes are dedicated to the American Soldier and Sailor. New York City ~ May 23 1885 " Damp stain boards vol 2 front hinge starting. . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1885. Charles L. Webster & Company hardcover
1865138284Boston: Ticknor and Fields 1865. First edition of the second series of Hymns of the Ages from the library of Ulysses S. Grant. Octavo bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles all edges gilt marbled endpapers tissue-guarded frontispiece. From the library of Ulysses S. Grant with a presentation bookplate to the pastedown which reads “Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant from the Citizens of Boston January 1 1866.†In very good condition. Rare and desirable. Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States 1869–77. As Commanding General of the United States Army 1864–69 Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War. He implemented Congressional Reconstruction often at odds with Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery protect African-American citizenship and supported unbridled nationwide industrial expansionism during the Gilded Age. Ticknor and Fields hardcover
1886236122New York: Charles L. Webster & Company 1886. First edition first printing deluxe issue. Publisher's deluxe three-quarter brown pebbled morocco over brown cloth decorated with gilt-stamped medallions marbled endpapers all edges marbled. Owner's penciled name both volumes front hinge vol. 1 split but holding strong light rubbing and scuffing to binding overall a near fine set. Frontispieces two tipped-in plates two facsimile letters and fold out map. Over forty additional maps throughout. Few presidential memoirs rival the literary and historical weight of Grant's. Composed during the final year of his life while battling terminal illness Grant wrote with urgency and remarkable lucidity. His unflinching narrative of the Mexican and Civil Wars drew quick praise for its candor and clarity. However Grant's fortitude to write was not fully self-imposed. It was his friend Mark Twain who encouraged Grant to finish his memoirs and entrust their publication to Charles L. Webster & Company which Twain co-founded. Issued in two monumental volumes by subscription the first edition sold over 200000 copies in its first year. The work not only secured the financial future of Grant’s family but also cemented his reputation as both soldier and author.<br /> <br /> A near fine deluxe binding edition of the first two volumes of the "Shoulder Strap" series. <br /> <br /> Dornbush II: 1986; Nevins II: 59. Charles L. Webster & Company unknown
1885741761885. GRANT Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. New York: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885. 1st ed. 2 Vols. 584;6471 erratapp. Portrait frontises. plates some folding maps. Orig. 3/4 gilt-ruled black morocco gilt-pictorial cloth raised spine bands compartments marbled endpapers all edges marbled. Very good. The "shoulder strap edition" with four stars on spine." Seldom seen in such fine condition and considerably rarer than the cloth should strap edition. "Bruce Catton places Grant's memoirs on the top of his list of Civil War classics"--The Union Bookshelf 35. "Written frantically while in a race with death these recollections rank with the best of the Civil War period"--Nevins II p.59. unknown
1885151920New York: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885-1886. First edition of the autobiography of Ulysses S. Grant the 18th President of the United States which covers his military career during the Mexican War and the Civil War. Octavo two volumes original green cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel gilt central emblem to the front and rear panels patterned endpapers illustrated with numerous steel engravings facsimiles and 43 maps tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of Grant to each volume. In very good condition. A nice example. "The best memoirs of any general's since Caesar" Mark Twain. "A unique expression of the national character.Grant has conveyed the suspense which was felt by himself and his army and by all who believed in the Union cause. The reader finds himself.on edge to know how the Civil War is coming out" Edmund Wilson. “Grant’s memoirs comprise one of the most valuable writings by a military commander in history†Eicher 492. Charles L. Webster & Company hardcover
18711466831871. Autograph document signed by Ulysses S. Grant as President of the United States of America. Quarto one page partially printed the document reads 'I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to a Warrant for the commutation of the sentence of Charles Purdue dated this day and signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant. "U.S. Grant" Washington May 2 1871.' The man referenced here Charles Purdue was a seaman aboard the Robert Edwards in the spring of 1871 who was accused of inexplicably setting fire to the ship causing all on board to abandon the vessel. Although he was charged and convicted of arson no lives were lost and Purdue claimed that his confession of the crime had been extorted. In very good condition. Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States 1869–77. As Commanding General of the United States Army 1864–69 Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War. He implemented Congressional Reconstruction often at odds with Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery protect African-American citizenship and supported unbridled nationwide industrial expansionism during the Gilded Age. unknown
1897132638New York: The Century Co. 1897. First edition of Horace Porter's Civil War memoir. Octavo original cloth illustrated with portraits and maps. In good condition. First editions are rare. American soldier and diplomat Horace Porter served as a lieutenant colonel ordnance officer and staff officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War and personal secretary to General and President Ulysses S. Grant. He also was secretary to General William T. Sherman vice president of the Pullman Palace Car Company and U.S. Ambassador to France from 1897 to 1905. From 1869 to 1872 Porter served as President Grant's personal secretary in the White House. The Century Co. hardcover
188620527New York: Charles L. Webster & Co 1886. 1/2 leather. Very Good. The 1885 1st edition in the publisher's less common 1/2 deluxe brown morocco over chocolate-brown boards. Complete in 2 volumes the first published in 1885 the second and final volume published in 1886. Both volumes solid and very presentable with lightly-rubbed gilt-titling along the spines and bright gilt-medallions at the front panels. A bit of light wear to the outer hinges and mild scuffing at the panels. Internally all plates present and no writing or markings to speak of save for 2 blank preliminary pages in Vol. II with light crayon. Thick uniform octavos matching edges pastedowns and endsheets. THIS COPY ALSO INCLUDES SOME VERY INTERESTING EPHEMERA such as the original 1885 printed receipt for the purchase of the set and a well-executed late 19th century pencil sketch of the set's "erudite" first owner a woman named Matilda Ziegler. Opposite the sketch is an original pasted-on memorial card of Matilda produced by the family. Charles L. Webster & Co unknown
1885146691New York: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885-86. First edition of the memoirs of one of the most recognized figures in American military history illustrated with tissue-guarded portrait frontispieces numerous steel engravings facsimiles and 43 maps in deluxe publisher's full sheep. Octavo 2 volumes publisher's full tan sheep with gilt titles to the spine in five compartments within raised bands red and navy morocco spine labels marbled endpapers and edges illustrated with numerous steel engravings facsimiles and 43 maps. In very good condition. "The best memoirs of any general's since Caesar" Mark Twain. "A unique expression of the national character.Grant has conveyed the suspense which was felt by himself and his army and by all who believed in the Union cause. The reader finds himself.on edge to know how the Civil War is coming out" Edmund Wilson. “Grant’s memoirs comprise one of the most valuable writings by a military commander in history†Eicher 492. Charles L. Webster & Company hardcover
18852942New York: Charles Webster and Co 1885. First edition. Original deluxe sheep. Very Good. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S DELUXE SHEEP BINDINGS of Grant's important and fascinating memoirs illustrated throughout with numerous steel engravings facsimiles and over forty maps. Written during the final days of Grant's life and seen through publication by Mark Twain the Memoirs provide a personal and poignant record of some of the most significant events in American history. The first edition of the Memoirs was issued in cloth morocco and sheep bindings. The soft sheep leather wears most easily and therefore has become the most difficult to find in good condition.<br /> <br /> New York: Charles Webster & Co. 1885-86. Octavo original full publisher's sheep with leather spine labels marbled endpapers and edges. Two volumes. Volume 1 with a few scuffs to rear board and joints and with spine lightly toned; volume two binding with only very light wear. Text in each exceptionally clean. A very good copy - much nicer than is usually found. Charles Webster and Co unknown
1886115New York NY: Charles L. Webster & Company 1886. Very Good. <p data-start="151" data-end="748">A first edition set of Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant published in two volumes by Charles L. Webster & Company 1885–86. <br /> <br /> Handsomely bound in full butterscotch calf with gilt-stamped red and black spine labels marbled endpapers and matching marbled edges this deluxe set includes steel-engraved frontispiece portraits with tissue guards numerous maps plates and both original fold-out facsimiles: General Buckner’s surrender in Vol. I and General Lee’s surrender in Vol. II. Together the volumes span 1231 pages and measure approximately 6.5" x 9.375" x 4" stacked.</p> <br /> <p data-start="750" data-end="1324">The set carries notable provenance with both volumes bearing the gilt-stamped name Aubrey Louis Abramson on the front boards and the Abbie & Emily Abramson bookplate on the pastedowns. Volume I also features a San Francisco bookseller label J. Dewing & Co. and a penciled 1951 note referencing a Berkeley textbook shop. <br /> <br /> Condition is Very Good to Near Fine: light rubbing and edge wear as expected for its age a discreet repair to the spine base of Vol. II and a minor rear cover crack. Interiors are largely clean and crisp with only occasional age-toning.</p> <br /> <p data-start="1326" data-end="1874">Grant’s memoirs remain among the most significant works of Civil War literature. Written during his final year while battling terminal cancer the project was championed and published by Mark Twain who secured generous royalty terms to benefit the Grant family. Completed just days before Grant’s death in 1885 the memoirs were a commercial triumph ultimately providing his widow with over $450000. <br /> <br /> This set with its elegant binding and compelling provenance is a fine example of one of the 19th century’s most enduring historical narratives. SD3</p> . Charles L. Webster & Company unknown
188527459New York:: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885. First Printing of the First US Edition. This is a Near Fine tight set with light wear to the extremities in the publisher's deluxe brown morocco leather over brown cloth boards with gilt circular emblems on the front and rear covers. This set is complete with the facsimile letter of Grant's original terms for Lee's surrender that is often missing. Mark Twain was the publisher of this monumental memoir as well as its editor and proof reader. Twain was extremely fond of and a close friend of Grant and encouraged the President and war hero to write his memoirs. Grant was dying of throat cancer but completed his two volume opus dictating the second volume to a secretary. Twain noted in a letter to his daughter that the manuscript was not even set yet and 20000 sets had been ordered from only two states. "Wait till you hear from the other 37." Grant finished his memoirs on July 18 1885 and died five days later on July 23rd. Following his death advance orders of the memoirs reached 300000 sets realizing close to $450000 for his family which was otherwise penniless. In a 1992 New York Times book review General Schwarzkopf is quoted as using Grant's two-volume work as his model calling it the finest military history of the Civil War. Charles L. Webster & Company, hardcover
188514234New York: Charles L. Webster 1885. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Large octavo 2 volumes. A very near fine set in the publisher's deluxe 3/4 morocco binding. Spines just barely and evenly sun-kissed a nick to the middle of the spine of volume II and a few tiny abrasions to corners but a sharp sound lovely set increasingly rare in this condition. Front inner hinge oo volume I with a very thin harline crack as often; still sound. Small faint ownership stamps of one "C. M. Smith" to each volume. This set belonged to a veteran of the Civil War one Charles M. Smith of Evansville WI. His obituary and various other sources we found online such as a reunion photograph disagree as to whether he was the Assistant Surgeon in the 13th or 16th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry but in either case it's clear that he volunteered in 1861. Both units saw a great deal of action during the war. Also laid-in to the set is a photographic negative of a monument to the 16th Wisconsin infantry regiment which leads us to suspect that this was in fact his unit.<br /> <br /> A gift-quality example of this popular and well-regarded memoir among the best in both the military and presidential classes. Grant finished the memoirs on his deathbed and was convinced by his friend Mark Twain to use his publisher Charles L. Webster who sold the book by subscription only. Many of the book's "salesmen" were not really professional salesmen but veterans of the war who held Grant--warts and all--in very high esteem for his leadership during the conflict. These veterans often showed up to their neighbors' homes wearing their old uniforms; it's hard to imagine saying "no" to such a "salesman."<br /> <br /> One would think then that sets of Grant's memoirs would be commonly found with Civil War veteran ownership signatures but this is only the second such set which we have handled. So not only a handsome and well-preserved set but one with appealing provenance. Charles L. Webster hardcover
18701513891870. Autograph document signed by Ulysses S. Grant as President of the United States of America. Octavo one page partially printed. The document reads in full "I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to a Warrant for the pardon of John Thrasher Jr. dated this day and signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant. U.S. Grant Washington March 26 1870." In fine condition with mail folds. The piece measures 8 inches by 10 inches. Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States 1869–77. As Commanding General of the United States Army 1864–69 Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War. He implemented Congressional Reconstruction often at odds with Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery protect African-American citizenship and supported unbridled nationwide industrial expansionism during the Gilded Age. unknown
1885184123New York: Charles L. Webster & Company 1885-86. In the publisher's sheep First edition of the memoirs of the great Civil War general and 18th president of the United States "perhaps the most revelatory autobiography of high command to exist in any language" Keegan p. 202. The first edition was issued in five different bindings at varying costs. The sheepskin binding is especially attractive but is very prone to wear and generally found dilapidated. Written as Grant was dying of throat cancer and in dire financial straits the work serves as a deathbed justification for the war against the Confederacy and for Grant's own conduct as commanding general of the Union Army. It was published by Mark Twain Grant's close friend who marketed it by using military veterans in uniform to raise subscriptions. "To read Personal Memoirs today with knowledge of the circumstances in which Grant wrote them is to understand the indomitable will and moral courage that were keys to his military success" ANB. 2 vols octavo. Engraved portrait frontispieces etched plate and folding facsimile to each vol. on yellow paper in second vol. 47 integral full-page plans in all folding map at the rear of vol. II. Original sheep red and dark blue twin morocco labels marbled endpapers and edges. Contemporary pencilled ownership inscription to frontispiece rectos David S. Knapp of Maine. Sheep rather rubbed and spotted front joint of vol. II slightly split but holding firm contents toned folding facsimile skilfully re-inserted in vol. II still a very good copy. unknown
