Why Was Lincoln Murdered? (Signed First Edition)

Eisenschiml, Otto

Published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1937

Beautifully signed by Otto Eisenschiml at front endpaper: "Otto Eisenschiml." Very stylish compact signature. Rare signed first issue in original wrapper. Stated at copyright: "First Edition. Published March 1937. Copyright 1937 by Otto Eisenschiml." Large 6 1/2" x 9 1/4" design. Red full cloth boards, big, bold black cover and spine titles, light shelf wear, spine toning. Deckled pages near fine, clean; no writing. Light tan endpapers. Light discoloration to exterior text block. Photo plates throughout with pivotal memos, correspondence, documents, photos and illustrations. Also partial page imagery, maps throughout; and, a section of document plates at back. Bind fine, square; hinges intact. Original pictorial dust jacket in tan and red, moderate edge wear, rub, chip; unclipped 3.50, protected in new clear sleeve. Rare very good signed first printing in same dust wrapper. Otto Eisenschiml was an independent American history scholar, with an incredible interest in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. He began researching the murder in 1928 and was dissatisfied with the prevailing historical account that John Wilkes Booth was the mastermind. In 1937, Eisenschiml succeeded in having this book published and was able to present incongruities of the simplistic lone gunman story. It was unsurprisingly greeted with a furor by leading establishment historians. Otto postulates that Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton plotted to have Lincoln killed due to marked differences of opinion and objectives. Eisenschiml utilizes circumstantial evidence to build his case, especialling that fact of Stanton's hiring of a bodyguard named John Parker to protect the president. This individual assigned to protect Lincoln was conspicuously absent when Booth entered the presidential box at Ford's Theater. Eisenschiml also theorizes that Secretary of War Stanton deliberately left a key bridge crossing the Anacostia river open allowing egress from Washington D. C. when the capitol was supposed to be locked down. This was the bridge Booth used to escape. Stanton also ordered Booth to be shot and killed by the Union Army thus ending further discovery from him. Eisenschiml further postulates that Stanton likely tore several incriminating pages from Booth's diary. This book sparked other books, theories, and films on the assassination and his explanations have become known as the "Eisenschiml Thesis." Contents: "Smudges (Preface); I. The Fourteenth of April; II. Assassination; III. The Strange Career of John F. Parker; IV. What Really Happened at Ford's Theater; V. The President Is Refused Protection; VI. Premonitions vs. Secret Service Reports; VII. Grant Suddenly Leaves Washington; VIII. How the News of the Tragedy was Handled; IX. Every Avenue of Escape Blocked - Save One; X. The Man Hunt Is On!; XI. John Fletcher Tells His Story; XII. Baker Directs the Pursuit; XIII. The End of the Trail; XIV. Death Visits Garrett's Farm; XV. The Plots Against Grant, Stanton and Johnson; XVI. Stanton Invents a Novel Torture; XVII. Stanton's Inner Council; XVIII. The Odyssey of John Harrison Surratt; XIX. The Case Against Jefferson Davis; XX. The Setting for the Conspiracy Trial; XXI. The Prisoners at the Bar; XXII. The Woman in the Case; XXIII. The Conspirators Who Went Free; XXIV. Not Wanted - Victory in the East; XXV. Not Wanted - Victory in the West; XXVI. The Case Against the Radicals; XXVII. The Case Against John Wilkes Booth; XXVIII. The Case Against Andrew Johnson; XXIX. The Case Against Stanton; Conclusion; Supplementary Notes; Acknowledgments; and, an Index." With a detailed 14-page index. Printed in the United States of America. 503 pages. Insured post. Size: 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" Tall. Seller Inventory # 022697

Bibliographic Details

Title: Why Was Lincoln Murdered? (Signed First ...
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, Boston
Publication Date: 1937
Binding: Hard Cover
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
Signed: Signed by Author
Edition: First Edition.