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FOOTE, Shelby.
The Civil War. A Narrative.
First editions. Signed by the author on publisher's blank of volume I. A superb work of narrative history, uncommon signed, here handsomely presented. Originally a novelist, Foote was approached by Random House with a commission for a centennial short history of the Civil War at the suggestion of Walker Percy. Having persuaded them to expand the project to three volumes to be completed over nine years, Foote was immersed in the project for the next 20 years, supporting himself with various research fellowships, grants, and loans from his friend Percy. In the late 80s Foote was one of the historians interviewed by Ken Burns for his award-winning documentary series The Civil War, and when it was first screened in 1990, the intensity and immediacy of Foote's delivery, and his passionate involvement with the material, had such an impact on the public that he became a star overnight. In a single week at the end of September, 1990, each volume of the paperback version sold 1,000 copies each day. By the middle of 1991, Random House had sold 400,000 sets of the trilogy. Foote later told Burns, "Ken, you've made me a millionaire."
3 volumes, octavo. Finely bound by The Chelsea Bindery in black morocco, titles and decoration to spines, raised bands, single rule to boards, twin rule to turn-ins, burgundy endpapers, gilt edges. Maps to the text, some full-page. A fine copy.
