54-40 or Fight

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1909. This First Edition, published in January, 1909, is in Good+ condition. It is an historical novel set in Washington in 1844 and deals with the type of events that would fourteen years later erupt into the Civil War. In addition to writing, the author, Emerson Hough, was a well-known conservationist, responsible for inspiring Congress to protect the dwindling buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. He was also a friend to President Theodore Roosevelt, to whom he dedicated this novel. The book is bound in a burgundy cloth with a blind-stamped maze pattern on the the front panel with titles set off against a cream-colored border. This border is flaking off. The spine border has flaked off completely, although the blindstamped title letters remain. There is also shelf rubbing at the spine tips as well as bumped, frayed corners. The binding seems secure, and the text pages are clean and bright. There are four handsomely painted illustrations by Arthur Keller, including a frontis with tissue guard. The book measures 5 1/4 by 7 5/8 inches and includes 402 pages.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Good+/No Dust Jacket. Illus. by Arthur I. Keller. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.