How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

Washington: Printed at the Congressional Globe Office, 1867. First edition. Presentation copy, with a one-page tipped-in autograph letter at front, signed by Charles Sumner to an L.J. Campbell, dated October 30, 1868: "Dear Sir, In reply to yours of 14th Oct. I enclose the only copy of the speech on Russia America which I have in Boston. Faithfully yours, Charles Sumner". 8vo. 48 pp. Illustrated with a large folding frontispiece map of Alaska (second edition "May 1867", as usual; map not found in all copies per Howes). Original limp printed brown wrappers, spine repaired, wear and closed tears along edges; vertical crease at center from when sometimes folded; all edges trimmed; scattered light wear along edges; scattered spotting and soiling to text and map; repair in gutter of map. Best of the West 171; Howes S-1134; Lada-Mocarski 159; Wagner-Camp 163

First edition presentation copy of Charles Sumner's April 9, 1867 speech on the purchase of Alaska. "The discourse by Sumner on the history and state of Russian America, which had just become the American territory of Alaska, was a justification for the purchase of the Territory from Russia, famously known as 'Seward's Folly,' after the Secretary of State who negotiated the purchase." (Best of the West) The large folding map is of particular importance as it is the first published map of the cession area, a land-mass one-third the size of the lower 48 states, and the first map to use the name "Alaska", labeled such across the mainland.

Presentation copies are rare to auction, according to RBH, we can find only find two others since 1980.

Russian interest in Alaska began in the early 1700s when Czar Peter the Great sent Vitus Bering to explore the territory. Over the following century, Russian traders and explorers established a modest trading network in the resource-rich, but sparsely populated region. However, Russia's financial constraints, coupled with their defeat in the Crimean War in 1856, diminished their commitment to maintaining a presence there. As the United States expanded westward during the 1800s, Russia sought to counter British territorial ambitions in the area. Consequently, in 1859 Russia offered to sell Alaska to the United States, but the sale was delayed until the conclusion of the Civil War. Secretary of State William H. Seward eventually negotiated the purchase for $7.2 million, and President Andrew Johnson signed the treaty transferring ownership on May 28, 1867. The formal transfer of Alaska took place on October 18 of that year.

Lot includes two photographs related to Alaska, as well as a printed Congressional session leaf, related to Alaska (40th Congress, 2d Session, No. 130, "Treaty with Russia").