Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant Vol 1 & 2 1885 ANTIQUE Mark Twain Publisher

Description: The Book: The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant are two volumes of autobiography by Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. The work focuses on his military career during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. The volumes were written during the last year of Grant's life, amid increasing pain from terminal throat cancer and against the backdrop of his personal bankruptcy at the hands of an early Ponzi scheme. The set was published by Mark Twain shortly after Grant's death in July 1885.Twain was a close personal friend of Grant and used all of his famous talent for promotion in selling the books. Understanding that sales of the book would restore the Grant family's finances and provide for his widow, Twain created a unique marketing system designed to reach millions of veterans with a patriotic appeal just as the famous general's death was being mourned. Ten thousand agents canvassed the North for orders, following a script that Twain had devised. Many were Union veterans dressed in their old uniforms, who went door-to-door offering the two-volume set at prices ranging from $3.50 to $12, depending on the binding ($110 to $390 in 2022).These efforts sold 350,000 two-volume sets in advance of the book's actual printing. This made the Memoirs one of the bestselling books of the 19th century, in its first year outselling even the publishing behemoth Uncle Tom's Cabin—an extremely unusual result for a non-fiction book. By way of comparison, the memoirs of Grant's colleague William Tecumseh Sherman, published in 1876, were an immense financial success for their author, selling 25,000 copies during its first decade in print. In the end Grant's widow, Julia, received about $450,000 ($14,700,000 in 2022) from Twain during the first three years of publication, suggesting that Grant received around 30% of each sale (i.e., a 30% royalty rate). The Author(s): this is an autobiography The Condition: This 1885 first edition in 2 volumes is in its original binding. Their condition is acceptable. The binding is intact but no longer square. The cover corners are bumped. Vol 2 has some staining issues. The pages have foxing, but still quite nice for a 159 yo book. Signatures are still tightly bound with the title page in Vol 1 trying to detach, and the front end page in Vol 2 splitting. My father's library suffered fire damage in 1970. These 2 volumes have some smoke damage, but there is no odor as they've been quite in a humidity controlled environment since. Please see the photos for a better idea of their condition. The first photo shows both volumes; photos 2-12 is of Vol 2; the remainder are Vol 1. Please make inquiry if further photos are needed. The Collection: This book is from the “Notable Library Collection” of Harvey Cameron Veal (1925-2009), Atlanta, Georgia, who was an avid historian, book collector and frequent speaker on American History including the Civil War. A member of the Atlanta Civil War Roundtable & the Atlanta Historical Society, he was considered somewhat an authority on the assassination on Lincoln and JFK. His style of storytelling was legendary. He was a veteran, serving in the Army Air Corp in WWII. He had degrees in Electrical Engineering from GA Tech, Law from John Marshall Law School, and later in retirement went to the University of Georgia completing a degree in Anthropology, American History, and Criminal Justice. He served as Justice of the Peace in the Vinings Militia District in the 1960s & 70s. Shipped with USPS Media Mail. Local pick-up available also. If you choose this option, please bring with you the code or scan that Ebay will send you. I'll need it to complete the transaction. ThanksI ship in boxes. I don't use poly bags as I want even my used books to be well protected. This book in a box weighs 5.6 lbsI offer full refund as per Ebay’s return policy as long as the book is returned as delivered in the same packaging.Please leave good feedback...I will for you also! It is deeply appreciated. Hope to see you buy this item from me. And that you will check out other items I've listed.THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CONSIDER THIS ITEM. NOTE: Item location: Royston, GA 30662 United States Shipping to: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, Korea, South, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Republic of, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French Guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macau, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Uruguay, Russian Federation Excludes: Angola, Cameroon, French Polynesia, Libya, Mongolia, Suriname, Guyana, Mauritius, Chad, Madagascar, New Caledonia, Iran, Western Sahara, Laos, Congo, Republic of the, Seychelles, Sudan, Venezuela, Somalia, Burma, Cuba, Republic of, Yemen, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Niger, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tajikistan, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cape Ve

Price: 250 USD

Location: Royston, Georgia

End Time: 2024-10-02T19:48:19.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.38 USD