Item #428 War Letters of a Disbanded Volunteer. Embracing his Experiences as Honest Abe's Bosom Friend and Unofficial Adviser. Joseph Barber.
War Letters of a Disbanded Volunteer. Embracing his Experiences as Honest Abe's Bosom Friend and Unofficial Adviser.
A SATIRICAL LOOK AT LINCOLN AND HIS GENERALS, BEFORE THE APRIL ASSASSINATION

War Letters of a Disbanded Volunteer. Embracing his Experiences as Honest Abe's Bosom Friend and Unofficial Adviser.

New York: Frederic A. Brady, 1864. Item #428

8vo. 312 pp., plus 1 p. ads. Frontispiece caricature of the author at work. Bound in green publisher’s cloth, gilt decoration of the author on front board, blind tooled decorated cloth; binding showing some wear and discoloration. Owners signature of Rufus Munyan, Co. D. 18. C.V. (Company D, 18th Connecticut Volunteers).

First edition. Comical narrative by a delusionary “adviser” to Lincoln, whose letters pointedly featured the absurdities of war and the madness of the public administration during the 1860’s. Barber’s view is reflective of many New York writers, whose view of Lincoln and the war was decidedly Democratic, challenging the ferocity of the Radical Republicans who controlled Washington.

Written by the satirist Joseph Barber, who also published Crumbs from the Round Table (1866) and The American Book of Ready Made Speeches (1866). The anonymous illustration which introduces the text captures the manic nature of the author, with a statue of Lincoln looming over his shoulder

Wright Fiction, II, 210. Allibone’s, Critical Dictionary of English Literature, Suppliment I, p. 89.

Price: $75.00

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