Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant – Ulysses S. Grant – 1885–86 | First Edition

This first edition Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, printed in 1885–86 by Charles L. Webster & Co., presents the original two-volume publication authorized by Grant himself and completed during his terminal illness. The set was published under the oversight of Mark Twain and became a major commercial and historical success. The memoirs follow Grant through his military career, beginning with his service in the Mexican War through his rise to lieutenant general during the Civil War. The text is enhanced by numerous engraved portraits and battlefield maps detailing troop positions and movements during the war’s most famous campaigns.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant
• Author(s): Ulysses S. Grant
• Publisher: New York: Charles L. Webster and Co.
• Edition: First Edition, 1885–1886.
• Format: Octavo (8vo), two volumes
• Binding: Original publisher’s green cloth
• Size:  9.5in x 6.5in (24cm x 16cm)
• Collation:
  • Vol. I: 584 pp
  • Vol. II: 647, [1] pp
• Illustrations: 50 illustrations, including steel engravings and maps
• Contents Include:
  • Service in the Mexican War
  • Civil War campaigns – Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Appomattox
  • Implications of Sherman’s March to the Sea
  • Numerous battlefield maps
• Reference(s): Dornbusch II 1983; Eicher 492
• Provenance: Sticker from Paul Hitchock, Manset, Maine on front flyleaf

Condition:

Fair condition. Green cloth boards show rubbing, and fraying at corners and edges. Hinges and text blocks are shaken but intact. The pages in Vol. I show moderate staining and edgewear throughout.

Why Collect This?

• True first edition in original publisher’s leather
• Complete with Civil War battlefield maps
• Firsthand accounts of the American Civil War
• Published under Mark Twain’s imprint

Item Number: #31051