SUMNER, Charles. Introduction by Hon. George Frisbie Hoar.

The Complete Works of Charles Sumner.

The Statesman Edition of the Complete Works of Charles Sumner; with a three-page autograph letter signed by Sumner tipped into Vol. I

Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1900.

$8,800.00

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The Statesman edition of the complete works of Charles Sumner, with a three-page autograph letter signed by Sumner tipped into Vol. I. Octavo, twenty volumes bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, tissue-guarded frontispiece to each volume. One of one thousand numbered copies, this is number 391. With three-page autograph letter signed by Sumner to the Rev. R.C. Waterston tipped into Vol. I. which reads in full, "Yesterday I read the enclosed account, which will explain itself. It seems to me rather hard that I should be left in the lurch by our committee, & particularly by individuals on it who have never contributed their full quota, & who are themselves rich, too. I have so far neglected my worldly affairs during these latter years, & have been called upon so frequently for contributions, that I am less able than any member of the committee to pay this deficiency out of my own pocket. Nor do I think it just that Mr. Brigham, or Mr. Brooks, or Mr. Thayer, all of whom were originally responsible with me, and who have not contributed their full share, should let this be cast upon me. I have had the labor & responsibility of carrying the matter through--as far as it has gone, & secured contributions much beyond my portion. It seems to me, therefore, that I may properly devolve upon the members of the committee above named the duty of meeting this deficit. Upon you there is no claim; for you have already supplied more than your share but I submit the account to you, & ask your advice as to the course to be pursued. Ever sincerely yours, Charles Sumner." Here, Sumner writes as Republican Senator to Reverend Robert C. Waterston, regarding a commitment made to raise money for the public school system in Massachusetts, a cause Sumner championed alongside famous education reformer Horace Mann (1796-1859). In fine condition. A stunning set. The only complete set of the Statesman Edition we can locate in the auction record since 1964.

Charles Sumner was a prominent American statesman, lawyer, and abolitionist who played a critical role in the political struggle against slavery in the mid-19th century. As a leading member of the Radical Republicans in the U.S. Senate, Sumner championed civil rights and was an outspoken critic of the institution of slavery and its defenders. His most notable moment came in 1856 when he delivered a fiery anti-slavery speech titled "The Crime Against Kansas," which led to his brutal caning on the Senate floor by Representative Preston Brooks—a violent episode that symbolized the intensifying sectional conflict. Throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction, Sumner advocated for the emancipation of enslaved people and pushed for full legal and political equality for African Americans, including support for the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment. His commitment to moral principle and constitutional equality often put him at odds with more moderate figures, but it positioned him as a key figure in the transformation of American democracy during one of its most turbulent periods.