MRS. SHERMAN'S PERSONAL COPY OF HER HUSBAND MEMOIRS IN CUSTOM DELUXE CRUSHED LEVANT BINDING PRESENTED BY THE PUBLISHER.

William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891). Memoirs. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1875. 2 volumes, 8vo. Custom deluxe extra-gilt cobalt blue crushed levant by Matthews, spines in six compartments, 2 gilt lettered, rest gilt.

WITH: Laid in presentation autograph letter signed by the publisher William W. Appleton (1845-1924), to Mrs. Eleanor Boyle Ewing Sherman (1824-1888). New York City, 2 June 1875. 1 page, 8vo. On D. Appleton & Co. letterhead, laid in.

A unique copy of the complex self-portrait of the General that includes his vivid wartime accounts. This copy was especially made for the General's wife, Eleanor Boyle Ewing Sherman, who was a vocal protector of her husband's reputation and legacy. Included with the book is a letter from the book’s publisher, William W. Appleton, who writes Mrs. Sherman as a way of presenting the extremely fine binding of her husband's memoirs: “Dear Mrs. Sherman, I've sent you today six copies of the General's book + have put with them another copy bound in what we call "crushed levant," which I wish you would kindly accept for your own taking as a fair sample of American bookbinding. I am very glad to say that the book seems to be thoroughly appreciated + bids fair to have a very large sale. In fact, we have great difficulty in keeping the market supplied…”

The deluxe "crushed levant" binding, noted by Appleton in his letter to Mrs. Sherman, is beautiful and unique to this family copy of the General's autobiography.

A singular example with exceptional provenance.

Condition: minor damage to the spine of volume II, otherwise very fine.

PROVENANCE:

The Sherman-Fitch Library

Primarily assembled by General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), the collection of books was inherited and curated by his son, Philemon Tecumseh Sherman (1867-1941). Before his death, Philemon transferred the library to his niece, Eleanor Sherman Fitch (1876-1959). Eleanor was the granddaughter of General Sherman through his eldest daughter, Maria "Minnie" Ewing Sherman Fitch (1851-1913). Until now, the Sherman-Fitch library was held at the family estate in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The library includes a range of diverse material owned by General Sherman that principally relates to the Civil War, American history, and the Sherman family. Many works in the Sherman-Fitch library are historically significant, including General Sherman's annotated copy of Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs, the Sherman family bible, and Barnard's "Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign."

Most examples in the collection are affixed with bookplates that bear both General Sherman's and Philemon's names. In some cases, where General Sherman's ownership was clear, his bookplate was not always affixed. However, books with just Philemon's bookplate were generally acquired after his father's death in 1891. General Sherman’s bookplates were likely added by Philemon after his father’s death. Philemon’s bookplates were placed by Tecumseh Sherman Fitch (1908-1969) after he inherited the library in 1942.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Generals, Memoirs, Autobiography, Books]