Lot Details & Additional Photographs
Various authors; Guy Carleton Lee and Francis Newton Thorpe, eds. THE HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA. (20) volumes (complete). Philadelphia: Printed for subscribers only by George Barrie & Sons, [1903-1907]. The "Edition of the Presidents"; limited to one set for each president (total of 25 or 26 sets); "This set, containing an original autograph of James Buchanan is printed and bound for Elizabeth Stauffer Moore."; with Buchanan's signature tipped in to free endpaper of volume one. Publisher's green levant morocco, front cover with gilt and onlay Great Seal of the United States, the spine gilt-ruled and lettered with gilt seals of the United States and raised bands, front doublure in each volume with inset medallion portrait of a president (George Washington in the first volume through Theodore Roosevelt in the twentieth), the rear doublure with gilt Great Seal, with green silk-lined endpapers and all edges gilt; gilt stamped "BOUND BY BARRIE"; printed on Japanese vellum paper. 8vo; to include:
Discovery and Exploration,
The Indians in Historic Times,
Colonization of the South,
Colonization of the Middle States,
Colonization of New England,
The Revolution,
The Constitution,
The Louisiana Purchase,
Central America and Mexico,
Pacific Slope and Alaska,
Canada and British North America,
The Growth of the Nation 1809-1837,
The Growth of the Nation 1837-1860,
The Civil War from a Southern Standpoint,
The Civil War the National View,
The Reconstruction Period,
Rise of the New South,
Development of the North,
Prehistoric North America, and
Island Possessions; each with frontispieces in various states, and numerous additional plates throughout (some in color, some tipped-in, some folding.), many with tissue guards (some captioned).
Each 8 1/2 x 6 in.
Set printed and bound for Elizabeth Stauffer Moore (as stated on subscriber leaf and limitation)
While there are different editions of
The History of North America, this is the most limited, scarce, and ornately bound. According to our records, this "Edition of the Presidents" has only appeared at auction four times since the 1950s.
Binding with browning (mostly to spines and some edges), occasional small area of rubbing or discoloration, and slight bowing to one board; text blocks near pristine with very light wear to gilt page edges, infrequent mild foxing in a couple of volumes, occasional light offsetting, and minor general age and handling wear such as small area of cracking at hinge head; loss of tipped-in frontispiece in vol. one. A near fine example of this scarce, deluxe set.
