Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen Douglas, In the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois.

First edition, early issue of the most famous debates in American history which cemented Lincoln as a national presidential candidate. Octavo, original cloth stamped in blind. Ownership bookplate of President Gerald R. Ford to the front pastedown. President Gerald R. Ford and Abraham Lincoln occupy distinct yet symbolically linked places in American presidential history, united by their encounters with political violence and national division. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, led the United States through the Civil War and became the first American president to be assassinated when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in 1865—a moment that transformed him into a martyr for the Union and a symbol of democratic perseverance. Over a century later, Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president, survived two assassination attempts within seventeen days in 1975, both carried out by women—Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and Sara Jane Moore—amid the turbulence of the post-Watergate era. While Ford’s brush with assassination did not result in tragedy, it echoed the lingering volatility of American political life that had claimed Lincoln’s. In near fine condition. An exceptional example with even better provenance.