Description
The first edition of The Price of Freedom: Speeches and Addresses by President Calvin Coolidge. This copy is inscribed by President Coolidge to Marie Peary Stafford, the daughter of Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary.
Octavo, [12], 420pp, [2]. Blue cloth, title stamped in gilt. The first printing, with “Published March, 1924” stated on copyright page. Frontispiece portrait with tissue cover. Bookplate affixed to the front pastedown. A few unopened leaves, solid text block. Faint dust remnant along top edge of text block. In the publisher’s scarce dust jacket, $2.50 on front flap, crude tape repairs removed from spine, archival tissue repairs to verso, delicate hinges, a very good example. (Martin / Goehlert, 8035)
One of three known examples of the dust jacket to appear on the public market.
Signed on the front free endpaper: “To Marie Peary Stafford / With best wishes / Calvin Coolidge.”
Marie Peary Stafford (1893-1978) was the daughter of Arctic explorer Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary and Josephine Peary, born in Greenland during one of her father’s expeditions. The native population of Greenland gave her the name of “Ahnighito,” or “Snow Baby,” being the first white child born in their community. She grew up immersed in the world of exploration and later married Washington attorney, Lt. Edward Stafford. Marie contributed to polar history by preserving her father’s legacy and advocating for Arctic research. She was the author of several books on her father’s life of Arctic exploration and an autobiography titled “The Snowbaby’s Own Story.”
