EXCEEDINGLY RARE LARGE PHOTOGRAPHIC ALBUM, WITH 140 FOLIO MOUNTED ALBUMEN PRINTS OF PRESIDENT GRANT’S FUNERAL PROCESSION, DISTINGUISHED IN PUBLISHER’S MOROCCO-GILT BOARDS

(GRANT, Ulysses S.). Seven Mile Funeral Cortège of Genl. Grant in New York Aug. 8, 1885. Boston: The U.S. Instantaneous Photographic Co., [1886]. Large, thick oblong folio (14-1/2 by 20 inches, 6-1/2 inches thick), publisher's full brown morocco gilt boards rebacked, raised bands, all edges gilt; 139 mounts.

Rare first edition of this beautiful large folio album of 140 mounted albumen prints, in publisher’s morocco-gilt boards.

"As Grant's funeral procession made its way through New York City on August 8, 1885, it seemed everyone in the city was watching. Crowds packed every square inch of available viewing space on the ground, and buildings were draped in black in Grant's honor. The column of mourners who accompanied Grant was seven miles long. Among those mourners were three United States presidents. If old enemies from the Civil War carried grudges, they set them aside. Grant's pallbearers were Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan, who had fought for the Union, and Simon Bolivar Buckner and Joseph Johnston, who had fought for the Confederacy. Union and Confederate officers in the procession rode together in the same carriages. Placed in a 'temporary' tomb in Riverside Park, Grant's body stayed there for nearly 12 years, while supporters raised money for the construction of a permanent resting place. In what was then the biggest public fundraising campaign in history, some 90,000 people from around the world donated over $600,000 to build Grant's Tomb" (PBS). This album, composed of 140 mounted albumen prints, stands as a lavish testament to the national outpouring of grief at Grant's death. Views include portraits of Grant and his family, Grant's sick-room and death-bed room at Mount McGregor, and multiple depictions of the impressive funeral procession itself. The publisher produced this volume with varying numbers of plates, but most copies that exist have fewer than 100 plates. An elaborate brass stand (not present here) accompanied the album when it was published, the better to display the monumental tribute.

Scattered foxing to plates and text, more so to the last few plates; plates with occasional mild rubbing, expert repair with slight loss to text below the last plate. Linen stub guards expertly repaired, expert restoration to board edges, Most rare and desirable.