ABRAHAM LINCOLN 1809-1858

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1928. 4 volumes. LIMITED First Edition, the MANUSCRIPT EDITION and one of only 1000 hand-numbered copies with a leaf from the original Beveridge manuscript bound in. Illustrated throughout with a profusion of plates in each volume. Tall, royal 8vo, publisher’s original binding for this special issue of half dark blue ribbed cloth with light blue labels gilt ruled and lettered over blue paper-covered boards. xxvi, 297; vi, 310; vi, 361; vi, 381 including index. A fine set well preserved, internally very fine and essentially as pristine with no spotting, toning, or evidence of use, the text-blocks all very fine, the hinges all firm and strong. The paper-covered boards with some very slight toning and a minor bit of rubbing to the corners as is normal, the cloth spines very slightly mellowed and with occasional very small unobtrusive spots from age. SCARCE FIRST EDITION AND THIS, FROM THE LIMITED ISSUE WITH A LEAF OF AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT INCLUDED. Beveridge, known also for his great biography of Chief Justice Marshall, spent many years researching the available materials for this work. He made ongoing investigations, questioning what had been published by others and trusting no agent without verifying the work. He made journeys to the Lincoln country, sifted the the many traditions which have grown wherever the family rested, and sought to see for himself how far the neighborhood could influence the man. He was tireless in reading collections of papers still unpublished, in carefully going through files of newspapers, journals and books. The result of his labours presented itself in the form of this fine four volume work on Lincoln in the years leading up to the presidency.