The Life of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the American Forces, and President of the United States, Compiled under the Inspection of The Honourable Bushrod Washington, from Original Papers [etc] - By John Marshall

First Revised Edition. Volume One only [of two]. Presentation copy to Edward Everett, the inscription entirely in Chief Justice Marshall’s hand on the first blank: “For Honable Mr. E. Everett with the respects of The Author.” With Edward Everett’s engraved bookplate on the pastedown. Bound in contemporary calf, rubbed, marbled edges and endpapers, sound copy. Enclosed in a handsome morocco leather and cloth clamshell box. Laid in with the book is an Autograph Quotation Signed, “Edward Everett”. Everett writes: “Washington was the greatest of good men & the best of great men. Edward Everett, Boston, 22 March 1864”. Edward Everett, who was called “our Cicero” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Everett traveled around the country delivering speeches hoping to build a sense of nationalism among his audience; the most famous of these speeches “The Character of Washington” was delivered a total of 135 times. Everett graduated Harvard at the age of 17, quite young even for the time. He then went to Göttingen University, becoming the first American ever to receive a PhD. Following this, Everett went on to teach at Harvard and then served in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1835, Everett was he 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State. During this time Everett acted as a staunch supporter of Horace Mann’s education reforms, including the founding of the Lexington Normal School, the first teacher’s college in the United States in 1839. Subsequently, after serving as president of Harvard from 1846-49, Everett was elected to the United States Senate in 1853. Acting as a moderate in times of increasing national polarization. Following the attack upon Fort Sumter, Everett became a strong supporter of the war. Embarking on another speaking tour, Everett rallied support for the Union cause. Everett delivered what was to be the crowing achievement of his speaking career at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863. This two hour speech was, ironically, overshadowed by the brief oration of the day’s second speaker, Abraham Lincoln, who delivered his famous “Gettysburg Address.” Prior to his fame as Chief Justice, Marshall was a Captain in the Continental Army and was with George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine and endured the terrible winter at Valley Forge. Knowing Washington provided substantial insight when Marshall came to creating this biography.…