Description
First edition of The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis, published in 1881, in full sheepskin binding.
Octavo, [two volumes], xxi, [3], 707pp, [4pp ads]; xvii, [3], 808pp, [4pp ads]. Bound in full sheepskin, title in gilt over black leather spine labels, raised bands with gilt-ruled lines, decorative gilt board edges. Marbled endpapers, all marbled edges. Complete with frontispiece in each volume (lacking tissue cover in Volume I), 17 full-page illustrations, and all 18 maps as stated. Map of Yorktown and Williamsburg folded incorrectly, showing edges outside text block. Occasional light foxing to plates, toning to text. (Eicher 154) (Howes D120) (Nevins II: 51) An exceptional example in the scarce publisher’s sheepskin binding.
Written by Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), the former President of the Confederate States, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government is considered the magnum opus of the Southern cause. It remains a controversial historical piece, with its attempt to justify the Southern cause for secession. Davis followed it with A Short History of the Confederate States of America, completed shortly before his death in 1889.
