Lee's General Order Number Nine by (LEE, Robert E.) - n.y.

Chicago: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, n.y.. Paperback. Folio. Stiff blue portfolio with paper label housing 4to facsimile and 8pp explanatory text. Fine/very good. Facsimile and text fine; inoffensive small edge tear at lower edge of portfolio expertly, archivally mended. Handsome copy of this superb facsimile of Lee's farewell to his troops based on pioneering Battle Creek, Michigan autograph dealer Forest H. Sweet's original, which he felt to be an official copy, not a postwar souvenir copy. Printed on light blue stock, this facsimile is faithful down to the watermark, the fold lines, the faintly irregular edges, the light age toning to certain portions, the ink smears -- every last detail. Only one edition of this was produced, with paper label noting, "Reproduced by / Donnelley Deeptone Offset." Though undated, evidence elsewhere suggests a 1955 publication date.