Life of General George Custer First Edition - George A Custer - Bauman Rare Books

Life of General George Custer

George A CUSTER | Frederick WHITTAKER

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Life of General George Custer

Life of General George Custer

"AT LAST THE CHARM OF CUSTER'S CHARMED LIFE WAS BROKEN": FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST AUTHORITATIVE BIOGRAPHY OF CUSTER, 1876

WHITTAKER, Frederick. A Complete Life of Gen. George A. Custer. New York: Sheldon, (1876). Thick octavo, original pictorial gilt-decorated russet cloth recased.

First edition of the first authoritative biography of Custer, "based on papers made available by Elizabeth Bacon Custer" and published within months of his death at the Battle of Little Big Horn, with steel-engraved frontispiece, 12 plates and four full-page maps, in original cloth gilt.

Born in London, Frederick Whittaker migrated to America in 1850 and fought for the Union in the Civil War. Though he did not serve with General Custer, the two met briefly in 1875. News of Custer's death at the Battle of Little Big Horn soon after their meeting prompted a devastated Whittaker to contact Custer's widow with a proposed biography. "The mystery and tragedy of Little Bighorn immediately captured the nation's imagination… In the debate over who was to blame for the disaster… the groundwork was then laid for a historical debate unsettled to this day" (Hutton, Custer Reader, 398). Extensively "based on papers made available by Elizabeth Bacon Custer" (Lamar, 281), Whittaker produced this massive volume "with remarkable speed, publishing it in December 1876. The hero who emerged from the pages of his Complete Life of Gen. George A. Custer was a figure of epic proportions." Here Whittaker sought to counter any criticism of Custer and elevate "a rash, ever-so-human young soldier into the pantheon of America's greatest heroes" (Hutton, 389-99). While sometimes problematic in reportage, this volume stands as first authoritative account of Custer's life and career, and its influence remains substantial. Published in green or in russet (this copy) cloth, no priority established. Soliday IV:193. Early pencil owner signature.

A few spots of foxing to preliminaries, only slight rubbing to extremities, gilt bright. A near-fine copy.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
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Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
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Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
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