Published in 1926, Carl Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years is a poetic and monumental achievement in American biography. Sandburg, already a renowned "poet of the people," spent years researching the folk-myths and hard realities of Lincoln’s early life in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. This two-volume set eschews the dry, academic tone of previous biographers in favor of a lyrical, atmospheric narrative that treats Lincoln as a product of the soil and the frontier. It remains one of the most enduring portraits of the 16th President (note: the site lists 13th, but this is a correction for accuracy), focusing on his transition from a rustic laborer to a sophisticated legal mind and rising political star.
Edition: First Trade Edition (1926).
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York.
Binding: Two-volume set in original blue cloth with gilt-stamped lettering and decoration.
Condition Points: Both volumes are in Good condition. The boards show minor shelf wear and light bumping to the corners. The bindings on both tomes have become somewhat loose, but the text blocks remain intact and all pages are present.
Provenance: Volume I contains a previous owner's inscription on the front flyleaf. Internally, the pages are clean, bright, and free of rips, tears, or marginalia.
The Prairie Years is the foundational half of Sandburg’s massive six-volume Lincoln biography, which eventually earned him the Pulitzer Prize. For the collector of Lincolniana or American history, the 1926 Harcourt first edition is a cornerstone acquisition. While this set shows the common structural fatigue (loosening of the hinges) found in these heavy, substantial volumes, the internal preservation is excellent. It serves as a superior display set, capturing the period-correct aesthetic of mid-1920s high-quality trade publishing.
Published in 1926, Carl Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years is a poetic and monumental achievement in American biography. Sandburg, already a renowned "poet of the people," spent years researching the folk-myths and hard realities of Lincoln’s early life in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. This two-volume set eschews the dry, academic tone of previous biographers in favor of a lyrical, atmospheric narrative that treats Lincoln as a product of the soil and the frontier. It remains one of the most enduring portraits of the 16th President (note: the site lists 13th, but this is a correction for accuracy), focusing on his transition from a rustic laborer to a sophisticated legal mind and rising political star.
Edition: First Trade Edition (1926).
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York.
Binding: Two-volume set in original blue cloth with gilt-stamped lettering and decoration.
Condition Points: Both volumes are in Good condition. The boards show minor shelf wear and light bumping to the corners. The bindings on both tomes have become somewhat loose, but the text blocks remain intact and all pages are present.
Provenance: Volume I contains a previous owner's inscription on the front flyleaf. Internally, the pages are clean, bright, and free of rips, tears, or marginalia.
The Prairie Years is the foundational half of Sandburg’s massive six-volume Lincoln biography, which eventually earned him the Pulitzer Prize. For the collector of Lincolniana or American history, the 1926 Harcourt first edition is a cornerstone acquisition. While this set shows the common structural fatigue (loosening of the hinges) found in these heavy, substantial volumes, the internal preservation is excellent. It serves as a superior display set, capturing the period-correct aesthetic of mid-1920s high-quality trade publishing.
