Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years

New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1926. Hardcover. 2-volume set. Small 4to. Black cloth with gilt spine lettering. xvi, 480pp; vi, 482pp. Frontispieces, illustrations. Very good. Mild binding edgewear. Third printing (Volume One) and first edition (Volume Two), tight and nice, of this pair that began Sandburg's Lincoln biography (followed by the 4-volume "The War Years" in 1939). Half-title page of Volume One inscribed and signed large and bold in green ink by the author in year of publication: "Fay Lewis / Chicago / 1926 / Carl Sandburg." In addition, tipped to front flyleaf is a Typed Note Signed from Sandburg, 1p, 5 3/4" X 4", Chicago, IL, 28 May 1926. Addressed to Fay. Very good. On letterhead of "The Daily News" (with bit of "[Edito]rial Rooms" trimmed off), Sandburg tells his correspondent "Thank you for sending me the Mary Field letter. I can't return it as yet, without reading it a few times more. Not for its reference to me, fine as that is, but for its generally keen size-up of the American drift now... And one of these days I hope we'll have another of those good talks." Boldly signed simply "Carl" in green ink. "Mary Field" was certainly Mary Field Parton (1878-1969) was a noted journalist and friend of Clarence Darrow (as was Fay Lewis), Sinclair Lewis, Lincoln Steffens and other literary and political notables; this intriguingly cryptic Mary Field letter certainly worth further research. Second volume bears a fine 2½" X 1" clipped Sandburg signature in black ink tipped to front pastedown. Double signed copy of one of the classic Lincoln biographies.