Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1858, Volumes I and II

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1928. First Edition. Cloth. Near fine. [BIOGRAPHY].  First edition, fourth impression.  Two volumes.  Octavo (8vo); gilt-stamped facsimile signature to navy ribbed cloth on front boards, gilt lettering on spine; deckle fore-edge and bottom; Vol. I: xxviii, 607pp; photogravure portrait frontispiece of Abraham Lincoln with tissue guard; 8 inserted b&w plates; a few unopened leaves; light shelf scuffing to edge, paper lightly age-toned; Vol. II: vii, 739pp; photogravure portrait frontispiece of Stephen A. Douglas with tissue guard; 8 inserted b&w plates; (truncated) a few unopened leaves; light shelf scuffing to edges; paper lightly age-toned; both volumes near fine. Lacking their dust jackets. The author, Albert Jeremiah Beveridge (1862-1927), was an attorney, a Freemason, and a U.S. Senator from Indiana. He was elected to the Senate as a Republican in 1899 and served until 1911. He was an important leader in the Progressive Era, spanning from the 1890s to the start of WWI, and supported Theodore Roosevelt in his presidency. In his retirement, he penned a Pulitzer prize-winning four-volume biography of Chief Justice John Marshall. The biography of Abraham Lincoln was cut short by his death with only two volumes complete, hence the ending date of 1858. Considered to be an honest look at Lincoln the man, the work was published posthumously. After his death, Beveridge's wife handed over his notes and research to Carl Sandberg, and two more volumes were published, bringing the work up to four volumes. (Inventory #: 1517)