Life of Abraham Lincoln – J.G. Holland – 1866 | First Edition

Published just a year after his death, this biography of President Abraham Lincoln details his early life, presidency, the Civil War, and his assassination. This book is filled with his speeches, his defenses of his stance on slavery, organization of the Republican party meetings, proposition, and agreements to debates with Douglas, and the all-important abolishment of American slavery. Holland’s narrative helped shape Lincoln’s public memory in the immediate postwar years.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
• Author: Josiah Gilbert Holland
• Publisher: Springfield, Mass.: Published by Gurdon Bill
• Edition: First Edition, 1866.
• Format: Octavo, single volume
• Binding: Half calf over marbled boards
• Size:  8.75in X 6.25in (22cm x 15.5cm)
• Collation: 544, [2]
• Illustrations: 4 steel-engraved plates
• Contents Include:
  • Lincoln’s early years
  • Congressional career and debates
  • Presidency and the Civil War
  • Final chapter on his death
• Provenance: Handwritten inscription, “For my dear Grandpa from Julia E. Brewer, Christmas 1866”
• Reference(s): Sabin 32512; not in Howes

Condition:

Very Good. This example is bound in 19th-century half calf with raised bands and gilt-titled spine. Marbled boards and matching endpapers are intact, with minor edgewear. Marbled page edges are still clear. Internally, the book is complete and generally clean. The four engraved plates are present, including a frontispiece with tissue guard, with some foxing mostly confined to plate margins.

Why Collect This?

• Early biography published within a year of Lincoln’s death
• Attractive 19th-century half leather binding
• Desirable for Lincoln collectors and Americana enthusiasts