The Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton. [Abraham Lincoln's Copy].

First edition of the biography of DeWitt Clinton, the New York governor who built the Erie Canal, Abraham Lincoln’s own copy, signed by him on the title page. Octavo, original publisher’s blind-stamped black cloth with gilt titles to the spine, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Clinton. Signed by Abraham Lincoln on the title page in pencil, “A. Lincoln, Springfield, Ill. Nov. 19. 1860,” less than two weeks after his election to the presidency. Lincoln left Springfield by train for Washington the following February and never returned during his lifetime, only for burial after his assassination. In the early stages of his political career, Lincoln looked to Clinton as a model of a strong executive capable of undertaking and completing ambitious public works, and by the 1840s two counties in Illinois had been named in Clinton's honor. Clinton had championed the Erie Canal at a time when many regarded the project as financially and technically infeasible, securing state funding and overseeing its construction across more than 350 miles of upstate New York. Completed in 1825, the canal linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard, transformed New York City into the nation's preeminent commercial port, and stood for decades afterward as the foremost example of what an ambitious executive could accomplish through public works. In near fine condition. Neatly rebacked with the original spine laid down, hinges neatly repaired. Provenance: The Library of Charles E. Feinberg, Parke-Bernet, 2 April 1968; Collection of Harry J. Sonneborn, Sotheby's, 5 June 1980. Scarce and desirable with a strong Lincoln signature, books from Lincoln's library are exceptionally rare on the market.