The Empty Sleeve: The Life and Hardships of Henry L. Meacham in the Union Army

This is a rare, original copy of "THE EMPTY SLEEVE - or, The Life and Hardships of Henry L. Meacham in the Union Army" by Henry Meacham. Published by the author, presumably in 1869 (though no date of publication is stated). Softcover. Meacham, a member of the 32nd Massachusetts Volunteers in the Civil War, had his arm blown off by a shell near Petersburg in June, 1864. (In the booklet, Meacham writes: "As we were standing there, a shell came through one man and then exploded, taking my right arm off, and killing four of my comrades, making five lives destroyed and one wounded.") He printed and sold this pamphlet to make a living for himself and his ailing wife. This pamphlet is an example of postwar mendicant literature - items printed and sold for the support of their authors - and illustrate some of the hardships faced by soldiers in battle who became disabled veterans in later life. The booklet measures 7 3/8" tall x 4 1/2" wide; 24 pages.

PROVENANCE: This copy appears to have been owned by a close relative of Meacham (based on 2 obituaries of Meacham's family members found within the book): possibly by his brother, James W. Meacham...or by James's wife, Mary E. Meacham.

Condition:
Both the front and back covers have a tiny hole through the paper; there are a couple tiny tears at the outer edge of the back cover; some of the pages at the front and back have light creases at the outer corners tips. Tight binding with no loose pages. Nice condition pages - clean with only a small, light smudge at the outer edge of the title page. Overall a very nice copy.