Historic
American Leaders served as the topic for the March 2019 gathering. From the first president of the United States
to a current member of the US House of Representatives, American leaders were
profiled through biographies, memoirs, collected writings, and signed
documents.
George Washington
 |
| Marshall's The Life of George Washington, in five volumes plus atlas |
Marshall, John. The Life of George Washington, Commander in
Chief of the American Forces, During the War which Established the Independence
of His Country, and the First President of the United States. Philadelphia: C. P. Wayne, 1804. Five volumes plus the map atlas. Bound in matching calf of the period in very
good shape. This is the first definitive
biography of Washington. John Marshall
was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and knew and admired
Washington greatly. John Marshall's biography
was based on written records provided to him by the Washington family. This complete first edition set includes the
very scarce atlas showing maps of the major battles in the war for
independence.
 |
| Title pages of Volume One and the atlas of Marshall's The Life of George Washington |
 |
| Henderson's Washington's Southern Tour, 1791 |
Henderson, Archibald. Washington's Southern Tour, 1791. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1923. First edition. This hard-to-find, oversize volume is 340
pages with 85 illustrations on glossy stock. The book contains letters to and from
President Washington and chronicles his 1791 tour (via water) taken just after
he was elected president. The tour
started in Philadelphia and traveled south to Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia. On his return, he
stopped again in North Carolina before heading back to his home at Mount Vernon. Washington had previously visited the
northern states as early as 1789.
Andrew Jackson
 |
| Title page and author's note, Putnam's Memoirs of Andrew Jackson |
Waldo, S. Putnam. Memoirs of Andrew Jackson, Major-General in
the Army of the United States; and Commander in Chief of the Division of the
South. Hartford: Silas Andrus, 1818.
336 pages. Bound in full brown leather with red leather
square title on spine. Memoir of Andrew
Jackson (1767–1845), American soldier and statesman written after his success
in the War of 1812 but before his election as President of the United States.
Jimmy
Carter
 |
| Jimmy Carter, Turning Point |
Carter, Jimmy. Turning
Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age. New York: Times Books, 1992. Written thirty years after his first
political campaign for public office, President Carter vividly describes the
social and political conflicts in the South in 1962 and shows how those tensions formed an "America poised on the verge of political and social change that
nearly tore it apart." This copy
personally inscribed by Carter (shown: signature
only, not full inscription).
Martin
Luther King, Jr.
 |
| Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream |
King, Jr., Martin Luther. I Have
a Dream. San Francisco: Harper San
Francisco, 1993. First edition. 30th anniversary gift edition of Dr. King's August
28, 1963, "I Have a Dream" speech.
This copy signed on the half title page by Coretta Scott King.
 |
| The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Carson, Clayborne, ed. The
Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
New York: Warner Books, 1998.
First edition. This copy
inscribed by Coretta Scott King to John Cox.
John Cox was a political strategist and friend of Coretta Scott
King. Cox, King, and Christine King
Farris co-founded the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) in 1980
to facilitate the preservation, revitalization, and non-displacement of
residents in the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic District. Cox also served as a member of the Board of
Directors and Trustees of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent
Social Change; he was the board's secretary during much of his tenure with the
King Center in the 1980s and 1990s.
John
Lewis
 |
| John Lewis, Walking with the Wind |
Lewis, John. Walking
with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. First edition. From his early childhood, to "Bloody
Sunday" (March 7, 1965), to his 1986 election to the House of
Representatives, Congressman Lewis recounts his life and his journey from Troy,
Alabama, to Selma, to Washington DC.
This copy inscribed by Lewis and donated to a local charity for a fundraising
event.
 |
| John Lewis, Across That Bridge |
Lewis, John. Across
That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change. New York: Hyperion, 2012. As chairman of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, John
Lewis played a key role in the struggle to end legalized racial segregation in
the United States. Reflecting on, and
drawing lessons from, his experience in the Civil Rights Movement, Congressman Lewis
(sworn into the House of Representatives in 1987) offers guidance on being a
leader for transformation and change.
This copy signed by Lewis on the half title page.
