[Rarebooks] fs: Lincoln as seen by contemorary Blacks - scarce

[Back Creek Books]

Greetings All,

For your consideration:
~
(No. 6617 )  Washington, John E. (1880-1964); Introduction by Carl Sandburg.
THEY KNEW LINCOLN.
New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1942. First printing, Full cloth,
Octavo, 244 pages + appendix, black & white photographs, facsimiles. Fine in
a Very Good Dust Jacket, Jacket in Mylar protector.
      Uncommon book capturing impressions of Abraham Lincoln by African
Americans who personally knew and interacted with him. The historical record
is weak in regard to Lincoln's personal relations with blacks and their
perceptions of him and his attitudes toward them, and therefore this book
fills a crucial gap in the Lincoln canon--particularly in light of today's
revisionists who seem anxious to paint Lincoln as a stark racist. Dr. John
Washington, an African American dentist who grew up in the shadow of Ford's
Theatre in the late 19th century, gathered these amazing stories through
personal interviews with Lincoln's African American acquaintances or their
children. Here are the testimonies of Lincoln's barbers in Illinois and
Washington, white house servants, waiters, doorkeepers and others, all
meticulously researched and verified while retaining their original vigor
and color. There is a large section devoted to Mary Lincoln's seamstress and
confidant Elizabeth Keckley, who was rendered much less enigmatic by Dr.
Washington's groundbreaking research published here. The book includes
previously unpublished photographs and Lincoln letters, including the first
full transcript of an 1855 letter to Hon. George Robertson of Kentucky in
which Lincoln speaks at length about his feelings on the issue of slavery.
The book is bound in dark blue cloth over boards with yellow stamped
lettering and rule to spine and upper board, yellow topstain, illustrated
endpapers. Some minor browning around hinges on endpapers. Jacket has some
shallow edge chips and rubs, a 1/2" triangular chip to surface layer only on
upper joint fold, mild fading to spine, and a few other surface rubs. Mild
foxing to underside of jacket. A very clean and sound copy of the book in a
better than average jacket.    $500.00
See photo: http://www.backcreekbooks.com/bookphotos/6617.jpg

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Thank you for your interest.

Best regards,

Rock Toews
Back Creek Books
Post Office Box 3540, Annapolis, MD 21403, U.S.A.
Tel. 410-626-1363 or toll free 877-626-1363 -  Fax. 815-425-8542
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Military & Naval History, Americana, Nautical & Maritime, Marylandiana
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Today's featured book from our stock at the booksellers' cooperative,
TomFolio.com:
 [Mountbatten, Louis] Ministry of Information.  ''United We Conquer':
Combined Operations 1940-1942 (Signed by Louis Mountbatten).'
 Details and secure ordering:
http://www.tomfolio.com/mall/backcreekbooks/bookdetails.asp?book=6147
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'Jane Austen's books, too, are absent from this library. Just that one
omission alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't
a book in it.' - Mark Twain