Grant, Ulysses S.

Personal Memoirs [TWO VOLUMES]

New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885-1886. Frontispieces, two tipped-in plates, two facsimile letters, and fold out map. Over forty additional maps throughout. 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. Spine toned, v. 1, spots of rubbing and shelf wear, a near fine set. Item #243964

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 200,000 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.

A near fine deluxe binding edition of the first two volumes of the "Shoulder Strap" series.

[Dornbush II: 1986; Nevins II: 59].

Price: $1,750.00