LOT OF 2: CUSTER ERA BOOKS.

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2019

(a) 1876 FIRST EDITION OF "A LIFE OF MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER" by Frederick A. Whittaker. Complete Life of Gen. George A. Custer. New York: Sheldon, (1876). Thick octavo, original publisher’s gilt-embossed russet cloth. 648 pages. 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. 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”. While sometimes problematic in reportage, this volume stands as first authoritative account of Custer’s life and career, and its influence remains substantial. Steel-engraved front piece depicts a dashing Custer in gold gilt astride his horse with sword upraised above his head. 12 engraved plates and four full-page maps are present. As issued without dust jacket. Issued in green cloth, russet, and shiny black (this copy). CONDITION: Text and plates fresh, inner paper hinges starting but sound, most wear is from shelf contact is primarily along edges and contact points. Overall a very solid copy. (b) CUSTER ERA 1872 U.S. "CAVALRY TACTICS" MANUAL BY COOKE. This is a scarce regulation manual that would have been required reading for cavalry officers and enlisted alike. Most of these copies were no doubt shipped to the frontier posts and they had a very low survival rate as they were updated every few years as weapons and tactics progressed. Published in New York in 1872 this is the same manual used throughout the Civil War written by Philip St. Geo. Cooke. This is a historic manual that would be a proper display piece with Custer and Little Big Horn artifacts. CONDITION: Some chipping to bottom and top of spine. PROVENANCE: Dr. Frank Wagner cavalry museum collection.

Condition: (Very Good).

Item Dimensions: (9.5 L x 6.5 W x 2.75" H).