The White House Gallery of Official Portraits of the Presidents. New York: The Gravure Company of America, 1901.

Elephant folio, 20 x 16 1/4 in. Original one half leather. First limited Edition, numbered 546 and dedicated to Mr. P.T. Sherman, dated 15 January 1902 and signed by the Secretary of the Gravure Company of America.

A handsome volume featuring 24 full page steel engravings of each president from George Washington to William McKinley. Enhanced by the presentation bookplate to Philemon Tecumseh Sherman.

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.

[William Tecumseh Sherman, William T. Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Robert E. Lee, Union, Confederate, American Military, George Washington, Emancipation, Slavery, Slave, Abolitionist, Abolition, Frederick Douglass, John Brown]