A group of 4 memorial publications issued upon the death of General William Tecumseh Sherman on 14 February 1891 and sent to his family, each with the bookplate of his son and custodian of his library, Philemon Tecumseh Sherman, except where noted.

DeB. Randolph Keim. Sherman: A Memorial in Art, Oratory, and Literature by the Society of the Army of the Tennessee with the Aid of the Congress of the United States of America. [Washington, D.C.]: Government Printing Office, 1904. Deluxe red calf gilt with illustration of the memorial.

Tribute of the Chamber of Commerce of the States of New York to the Memory of General Wm. T. Sherman. February 17, 1891. New York: Press of the Chamber of Commerce, 1891. Original brown cloth. No bookplate.

James H. Kennedy, et al. History of the Ohio Society of New York. New York: The Grafton Press, 1906. Signed "P T Sherman" alongside bookplate.

Thirty-third Annual Report of the Corporation of the Chamber of Commerce, of the State of New York, For the Year 1890-'91. New York: Press of the Chamber of Commerce, 1891. pp. 89-101 with "Special meeting" held on the death of the General Sherman "the last of the great Generals of the Civil War."

A poignant collection of official memorials for the General from the Sherman family’s personal library..

Condition: Keim, front board detached.

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, Memorials, Generals, Books, Ephemera]