The President’s Dedication Address at Gettysburg
New York: Miller & Mathews - First Separate Printing, 1864 - 5 ½ x 3 ⅝ inches 
 
A rare first separate printing of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, issued during the Civil War and produced for the Metropolitan Sanitary Fair held in New York in April 1864. Elegantly printed in red and blue inks and arranged in two balanced paragraphs within an ornamental border, the design elevates the modest format into a work of notable visual distinction.
 
The publication of this edition was closely tied to the broader culture of wartime philanthropy. In correspondence dated March 23, 1864, the publishers expressed their intention to disseminate Lincoln’s “eloquent sentiments… for the benefit of the wounded and surviving,” linking the text directly to the Union war effort. Copies were presented to Lincoln, while others were offered at the fair as patriotic keepsakes, embedding the address within the material culture of Civil War remembrance.
 
Printed only months after the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in November 1863, this edition represents one of the earliest efforts to circulate the address independently. It stands at the moment when Lincoln’s words began to assume their enduring place within the national consciousness as a defining statement of purpose and sacrifice.
 
Condition: Very fine.