Description
First edition of the memoirs of General George A. Custer, My Life On The Plains, published in 1874.
Octavo, [8], 256pp, [2]. Brown cloth, title in gilt on spine and front panel, decorative gilt and black stamping to the spine and front panel. Fully illustrated with eight full-page woodcut engravings by A. Roberts, including frontispiece of Custer. Period ownership inscription on the front free endpaper, dated “Christmas 1874.” Frontispiece with tissue cover is tipped-in after the copyright page. A very good example, with light rubbing to the tips of the spine, sunning along the spine. A few internal blemishes, occasional thumb prints.
(Howes C981) (Graff 961) (Tal Luther 7)
The first edition was also found in blue, maroon, and green.
Published in 1874 before the infamous “Last Stand” of General Custer at Little Big Horn, this work details Custer’s military exploits in the American Indian Wars. It’s considered a valuable piece of primary source information. The legend of General George Armstrong Custer was largely of his own making, as he was known to encourage coverage of his military exploits. Elizabeth Custer, his wife, enhanced George’s legacy through her writings: Boots and Saddles (1885), Tenting on the Plains (1887), and Following the Guidon (1890).
