Description
The “Pennell Edition” of Castilian Days by John Hay.
Octavo, xi, 343pp. Rebound in modern green morocco, raised bands and decorative compartments on spine. Top edge gilt. Stated “Published November 1903” on copyright page. This first trade edition, also known as the “Holiday Edition,” first appeared in 1871, published by the James R. Osgood and Company of Boston. (BAL 7793b) Previous ownership bookplate affixed to front endpaper.
Comments: John Hay would serve as the private secretary to President Lincoln until 1865. Along with John Nicolay, Hay would author a 10-Volume biography of President Lincoln called Abraham Lincoln: A History. During the McKinley Administration, Hay returned to government as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, and later the twelfth secretary of state.