Ulysses S. Grant Memoirs, 1st Ed. 2-Vol. Set
New York, NY: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885-1886.
A first edition set of Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, published in two volumes by Charles L. Webster & Company (1885–86).
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 1,231 pages and measure approximately 6.5" x 9.375" x 4" stacked.
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.
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.
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 $450,000.
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
Price: $2,000.00