Description
First edition of The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis, published in 1881.
Octavo, [two volumes], xxi, [3], 707pp, [4pp ads]; xvii, [3], 808pp, [4pp ads]. Bound in pebbled brown cloth, title in gilt on spines, illustration in gilt on covers. Complete with frontispiece in each volume, 17 full-page illustrations, and all 18 maps as stated. Floral end papers, solid text block, hinges stable and reinforced. Occasional toning due to age. Light wear to cloth at top edge of spine, light rubbing to tips. Ownership stamp on front free end paper of each volume.
(Eicher 154) (Howes D120) (Nevins II: 51) An exceptional example of the cloth bound first edition.
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.
