Thomas Jefferson's Memoirs, First Edition, 4 Vols., 1829

This is an original Thomas Jefferson signature, presented framed with an etched portrait of Jefferson by Jacques Reich. The cut signature reads “Th. Jefferson” and is signed with a quill in black ink. This rare cut Jefferson signature was one of several prominent American statesman autographs collected together and bound in a 1809 volume of the Baltimore Evening Post. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was a leading figure in early American history, with a remarkable legacy in politics, law, and academia. He contributed significantly to the development of American democracy as a politician, diplomat, and as the main author of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout his life, Jefferson championed freedom of religion, agricultural innovation, and the importance of education. During the Revolutionary War, Jefferson served in the Virginia legislature, was governor of Virginia, and a member of the Continental Congress. Among the Committee of Five charged by the Second Continental Congress with authoring the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was the document's primary author. Jefferson served as United States Minister to France from 1785 to 1789. President Washington then appointed Jefferson as the nation's first secretary of state, where he served from 1790 to 1793. In the early 1790s, Jefferson and James Madison organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party. Jefferson thought the national government should have a limited role in citizens’ lives. Jefferson lost the 1796 presidential election to Adams, which according to electoral procedure at the time made him Adams' vice president. Jefferson challenged Adams again four years later, in 1800, and won the presidency. During his two terms as president, the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory, which doubled the country’s size, he reduced the nation’s debt, established the nation’s first national military university at West Point, declared war on Barbary pirates, and implemented the Embargo Act. After leaving office, he retired to his Virginia plantation, Monticello, and helped found the University of Virginia. The original signature is paired with a handsome etched portrait of Jefferson by 20th century artist Jacques Reich. A head and shoulders portrait, Reich based his etched rendition off an 1805 oil-on-canvas painting by Gilbert Stuart...

Sheridan, Philip Henry. Personal Memoirs of P.H. Sheridan, General United States Army. New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1888. First Edition. Two Volumes. Rebound in green quar...

Sherman, William T. Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, Written By Himself. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1875. First edition. In two volumes. Rebound in quarter blue leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine, new marbled endpapers. New custom archival cloth slipcase with Sherman portrait inlay. Presented is a first edition printing of The Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman. This two volume book set was published by D. Appleton and Company, in New York, in 1875. It is presented here, rebound in striking quarter blue leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine, new marbled endpapers, and a custom archival cloth slipcase to fit both books. Ten years after the end of the Civil War, Sherman became the first General to publish his memoirs of that period. He began writing his account in 1872 and the two volumes were published by D. Appleton and Company in the spring of 1875. According to the publisher’s prospectus, the two volume set was originally offered in four different bindings, including fine blue cloth, green cloth, full sheepskin, and half blue moroccan leath. Sherman explains his motivations for writing in the preface of Volume I: “Nearly ten years have passed since the close of the civil war in America, and yet no satisfactory history thereof is accessible to the public;…. What is now offered is not designed as a history of the war, or even as a complete account of all the incidents in which the writer bore a part, but merely his recollection of events, corrected by a reference to his own memoranda, which may assist the future historian when he comes to describe the whole, and account for the motives and reasons which influenced some of the actors in the grand drama of war.” His two volume account touches briefly on his early life, including his time at West Point, his life in and out of the army in Florida, California, New York, Kansas, and Louisiana. Yet the bulk of the writing is focused on the Civil War. “Written with the propulsive energy and intelligence that marked his campaigns” his memoir provides firsthand accounts of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, the infamous Atlanta campaign, and his march to the sea through Georgia and the Carolinas. The memoir describes striking incidents and anecdotes and collects dozens of his incisive and often outspoken wartime orders and reports. Throughout it all, Sherman is quite frank in describing the rights and wrongs of the campaigns he saw, writing without much concern for the feelings or experiences of others. This complex self-portrait of an innovative and relentless American general provides for a vivid read and an exceptional Civil War account. CONDITION: Good condition. First edition. In two volumes. Beautifully restored and rebound. Quarter blue leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine, new marbled endpapers. Paper is okay to good, with toning as to be expected. Scattered spots and smudges. Inscribed twice by previous owner, inscription on the top of the Note page of Vol I and on the full title page of Vol II. Large "Military Map...

Nixon, Richard. The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978. First Edition. Signed and inscribed on a pasted down bookplate. In original dust jacket and boards. Pr...

Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1942. First edition. Three volume set. Rebound in ¼ black leather and cloth, with raised bands, gilt tooling and titles to the spine, and an archival slipcase. Presented is a first edition, three volume set of Lee’s Lieutenants by Douglas Southall Freeman...

Nixon, Richard. The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. Norwalk: The Easton Press, 1988. Two-volume set. Bound in full leather with 22-karat gold embossing. Housed ...

New Orleans architecture vol. VII Jefferson City. Gretna: Pelican publishing company. First edition hardcover with dust jacket, 1989. 192 pp. ...

AUTHOR: HARDY, Thomas. TITLE: The Return of the Native. PUBLISHER: London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1878. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE. 3 vols., 7-1/4" x 4-15/16", (without the quotation marks...

AUTHOR: CASANOVA (Arthur Machen - translator). TITLE: The Memoirs Of Giocomo Casanova Di Seingalt. PUBLISHER: London: Privately Printed for The Casanova Society, 1922. DESCRIPTIO...

The Wrightsman collection, Vols. I-V. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1966-1973. First edition hardcovers with dust jackets. 2248 pp. Inscribed by the Wrightsmans. The complete series of The Wrightsman collection catalogues from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jayne and Charles Wrightsman, who, in a relatively short period of time—beginning in 1952—amassed the finest private collection in America of the decorative arts of the Ancien Régime (15th c until 1792). Throughout the years the Wrightsmans' active interest in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts has resulted in splendid gifts that have enabled the Museum to create an unparalleled and truly encyclopaedic collection of French 18th c...

AUTHOR: CHURCHILL, Winston. TITLE: Lord Randolph Churchill. PUBLISHER: London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1906. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION. 2 vols., 8-11/16" x 5-7/8", illustrated with ...

AUTHOR: CESCINSKY, Herbert. TITLE: English Furniture Of The Eighteenth Century. PUBLISHER: London: The Waverley Book Co., Ltd., n.d. (1909-11). DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION. 3 vols...