Railroads: Their Origin and Problems.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1878. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Green cloth with silver/black lettering and gilt/black rules. 216pp. Very good. Spine lightly, sloppily shellacked, with hand-lettered paper shelf label near foot; couple inoffensive chips to front flyleaf; occasional light dampstain to some text pages edges. Item #50007
A tight, fairly attractive first edition. The grandson of Presidents John Quincy Adams and great-grandson of John Adams was a noted author and historian (1835-1915) -- and long-time railroad reformer who because of his activism and this book Congress strong-armed the Union Pacific Railroad into hiring as president (1884-90), a role he took on with mixed results. This special copy was sent to an influential U.S. senator by Adams himself, as attested by a superb content Autograph Letter Signed from him tipped to the rear endpaper: 2pp, 4 3/4" X 7¼", Boston, MA, 9 November 1878. Addressed to "Hon. Wm B. Allison / Dubuque" on letterhead of the "Adams Building," Adams transmits to his old friend: "I send you herewith a swell volume of mine in which I have endeavored to condense the recent results of experience in railroad legislation. These questions are continually before Congress and you exercise a large influence in shaping the results of Congressional action. As you are not of those who regard as worthless the best results of several years study of a speciality, I have no doubt you will read my volume and hope you will find some food for reflection it." Signed boldly in full. It is likely that Adams and Allison first met when Adams accompanied his father, Senator William H. Seward and others to Dubuque in an 1860 tour of the Northwest to insure that this region voted for presidential nominee Abraham Lincoln (Sage, pp. 39, 342). From the collection of William B. Allison (1829-1908), the powerful Iowa Republican who, as U.S. senator from that state (1873-1908), was one of the "big four" who controlled the Senate; as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee for most of those years, he championed tariff legislation and co-authored the Bland-Allison Act of 1878; as member of the Senate Finance Committee he was often courted by U.S. presidents to hold cabinet positions. Early 20th century bookplate on each front pastedown notes "This book is part of Allison Memorial Collection Gift of Mrs. Jennie A. Brayton" and until deaccessioned was part of Allison's non-circulating collection at his hometown public library across the street from his Dubuque residence. Notes Leland L. Sage in his 1956 biography "William Boyd Allison: A Study in Practical Politics," Allison owned "hundreds of books on government, economics, history, banking, finance, and the tariff.... An omnivorous reader, Allison doubtless read most of these volumes, if only for relaxation from the strain that accompanied his efforts to solve the many problems facing the Nation...."
Price: $495.00