Political Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, In the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois.

LINCOLN, Abraham.

Item Number: 16003

Columbus: Follett, Foster and Company, 1860.

First edition, first issue, with no advertisements, no rule above the publisher’s imprint on the copyright page, and with numeral 2 at the bottom of page 17. Octavo, original publisher’s brown cloth. Some intermittent foxing, otherwise fresh with some rubbing to the cloth. Housed in a custom half leather clamshell box.

“he began collecting a scrapbook of his best speeches, particularly those from the just-concluded campaign against Douglas, for possible inclusion in a book. Assiduously pasting newspaper accounts of the debates into the scrapbook, Lincoln cast about for a publisher. Initial efforts failed, mainly because Lincoln wanted the book printed in Springfield, which had no local publishing or printing facilities. Eventually, however, the Columbus, Ohio, firm of Follett, Foster & Company showed interest, and he began preparing the first edition… Somewhat surprisingly for an attorney, Lincoln did not seek Douglas’ permission to publish a book of their combined speeches, although Douglas was later given the last-minute opportunity—he declined—to make corrections to his own remarks” (Morris, 121).