Gillespie Mrs E D (1 results)

Hardcover. 8vo. Green cloth with gilt lettering and rules. 393pp. Top edge gilt. Tissue-guarded frontispiece, 9 full-page called-for plates. Near fine. Tight and nice binding bears lightly shellacked spine (unfortunate but not uncommon late 19th century practice) and hand-lettered shelf label near spine foot -- else bright and internally fine. Elizabeth Duane Gillespie (1821-1901) was the celebrated great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, one of Philadelphia's elite and an outspoken socialite, civic leader, and women's rights activist who presided over the Women's Centennial Executive Committee that organized the Women's Pavilion for the United States Centennial Exhibition of 1876. She boldly inscribes and signs the half-title page of this memoir in black ink to "Hon William B. Allison / from his faithful / and grateful friend, / The Author / May 18th 1901." About five months later, on October 14th, she died. How and when Gillespie and Allison crossed paths is unknown, although given the many and high circles in which she circulated it's not surprising she would befriend the influential Congressman. From the collection of William B. Allison (1829-1908), the powerful Iowa Republican who, as U.S. senator from that state (1873-1908), was one of the "big four" who controlled the Senate; as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee for most of those years, he championed tariff legislation and co-authored the Bland-Allison Act of 1878; as member of the Senate Finance Committee he was often courted by U.S. presidents to hold cabinet positions. Early 20th century bookplate on front pastedown notes "This book is part of Allison Memorial Collection Gift of Mrs. Jennie A. Brayton" and until deaccessioned was part of Allison's non-circulating collection at his hometown public library across the street from his Dubuque residence. According to Leland L. Sage in his 1956 biography "William Boyd Allison: A Study in Practical Politics," Allison owned "hundreds of books on government, economics, history, banking, finance, and the tariff [as well as] volumes of American and English literature. An omnivorous reader, Allison doubtless read most of these volumes, if only for relaxation from the strain that accompanied his efforts to solve the many problems facing the Nation." Signed copies of this memoir published so near Gillespie's death are rare and this sharp presentation copy quite desireable.