IRVING, Washington [William T. Sherman].
A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada: From the MSS. of Fray Antonio Agapida.
Washington Irving's A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada; with a full page autograph inscription signed by General William T. Sherman
Paris: Baudry's European Library, 1842.
$6,800.00
In Stock
Item Number: RRB-149597
* Custom Clamshell Boxes are hand made by the Harcourt Bindery upon request and take approximately 60 days to complete
General William T. Sherman's copy of this romanticized historical narrative. Octavo, bound in full dark green calf with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, all edges gilt, turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers. Full page autograph inscription in pencil by United States General William T. Sherman on the verso of the title page and signed by him. The inscription reads in full, "Granada. January 2, 1872. On reaching Granada three days ago, I met Mr Buckham of New York and on enquiring for a copy of Irving's Conquest of Granada he kindly lent me this. I have partially ... it and have found it intensely interesting for the association-but am the more obliged to Mr Buckham for his kindness in loaning me this book at this time. I hope I may have it in my person to reciprocate the favor at some future occasion. W.T. Sherman General US Army." William Tecumseh Sherman was a Union general during the American Civil War, best known for his decisive leadership and his implementation of "total war" strategies. Born in 1820, Sherman graduated from West Point and served in various military roles before rising to prominence in the Civil War. His encounter with Granada, most notably through his 1872 visit to southern Spain during his post–Civil War travels in Europe, reveals a lesser-known dimension of the American general often remembered solely for his military campaigns. Sherman’s reflections on Granada’s Alhambra, recorded in his travel letters and memoirs, show his deep admiration for the city’s layered Islamic, Jewish, and Christian histories and for the architectural splendor of the Nasrid palace complex. In very good condition with some rubbing to the panels, bookplates to the front pastedown.
Washington Irving was a novelist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith, and Muhammad, and several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors and the Alhambra. Irving served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. Shortly after completing a biography of Christopher Columbus in 1828, Washington Irving traveled from Madrid, where he had been staying, to Granada, Spain. At first sight, he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen." Irving was preparing a book called A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, a history of the years 1478–1492, and was continuing his research on the topic. He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status. Aided by a 35-year-old guide named Mateo Ximenes, Irving was inspired by his experience to write Tales of the Alhambra. The book combines description, myth and narrations of real historical events, even up through the destruction of some of the palace's towers by the French under Count Sebastiani in 1812, and the further damage caused by an earthquake in 1821. Throughout his trip, Washington filled his notebooks and journals with descriptions and observations though he did not believe his writing would ever do it justice. He continued to publish regularly—and almost always successfully—throughout his life, and just eight months before his death (at age 76, in Tarrytown, New York), completed a five-volume biography of George Washington. Irving, along with James Fenimore Cooper, was among the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving encouraged American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe.
A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada: From the MSS. of Fray Antonio Agapida.
$6,800.00
In Stock