Lot of American History books 1886 - 1939. This lot consists of two volumes of “Old Virginia And Her Neighbors”, one book about Reconstruction in the South, and one book about Calvin Coolidge. The Virginia books were written by John Fiske and are titled “Old Virginia And Her Neighbors” and they are a complete two-volume set published in Boston and New York by Houghton Mifflin in 1898 and printed at the Riverside Press in Cambridge. The first edition was published in 1897 and this is the Ninth Thousand, which is an early printing of the set. The books are 3/4 bound, with five raised bands, gilt titles, gilt lettering and gilt decorations on the spines, marbled boards, and the top edges are gilt in both volumes. The first volume has a colored map of Tidewater Virginia for the frontispiece and is dedicated to John Knowles Paine (a famous American composer), then a four-page Preface (v - viii), thirteen pages of Contents (ix - xxi), two more maps, and 318 pages of text. The second volume has a map of the Westward Growth of Virginia for a frontispiece, fourteen pages of Contents (iii - xvi, with uncut pages), 400 pages of text, two more maps, and an Index that runs to page 421. The Reconstruction book is titled “Blood Is Thicker Than Water: A Few Days Among Our Southern Brethren” and was written by Henry Martyn Field and published in New York by George Munro in 1886, and it’s a first edition according to WorldCat. The book is a compassionate account of the author's travels in the Southern states during the Reconstruction era; he had a keen eye for detail and a deep empathy for the struggles of the people he encountered, probably because he had been a clergyman for many years, and his book provided a powerful glimpse into the social and political realities of the South in the post Civil War era. Field (1822 - 1907) was an American author who was born Stockbridge, Mass. He entered Williams College when he was only 12 and graduated when he was just 16, he studied theology in East Windsor and New Haven, Connecticut, he became pastor of a Presbyterian church in St Louis, Missouri for five years and pastor of a Congregational church in West Springfield, Massachusetts for another five, and he published “The Evangelist” for 44 years, so he had a background in looking after people’s needs, especially after the conflict of the Civil War. The book has gilt lettering on the spine, maroon boards, blank endpapers, an illustrated frontispiece with General Gordon showing compassion for a soldier during a Civil War battle, a tissue guard, then the title page, the copyright page is dated 1886, two pages of Contents, a two-page Preface, 151 pages of text, and a five-page catalogue of books written by Henry Martyn Field. The Coolidge book is titled “Calvin Coolidge 1872 - 1933” and was a commemoration of the life of Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, after he died in 1933. The book was written by H. I. Phillips and adds “Christmas and New Year’s Greetings” on the title page, it was published by Charles E. Tuttle in Rutland, Vermont in 1939 - 1940, and it’s fitting that the book was published in Rutland because Coolidge was born in Vermont. The book has soft boards and a gilt label with dark letters on the front cover, blank endpapers, the title page, a copyright page which says the first edition was published in 1933 by George Sully, and the text runs from page 3 to page 21. John Fiske (1842 - 1901) was an American philosopher and historian who was influenced by Herbert Spencer. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, lectured and taught at Harvard and had a professorship at Washington University in St. Louis, and his writings on evolution earned high praise from Charles Darwin. H. I. Phillips was a writer known for Reported Missing (1922), Robert Montgomery Presents (1950), We, the People (1948), and this book about Calvin Coolidge. He died in 1965. The Virginia books are 8vo. and measure 8 x 5 1/4 in. wide apiece, with tight bindings and clean pages and text, clean maps, light rubbing on the edges of the spine and light wear at the tips, a small chip on the spine in the first volume and missing pieces on the spine label in the second volume, and a thorough history of Virginia up to the beginning of the French & Indian War. The Field book is 8vo. and measures 7 5/8 x 5 3/8 in. wide and is in very good condition. The binding is tight and the pages and text are clean, except for the front and rear endpapers, which have faint brown spots, the frontispiece and tissue guard have darker brown spots, the gilt has faded on the spine, there is light rubbing on the heel and crown and at the tips, the tips are slightly turned in, and generally a very good copy of this scare book. The Coolidge book is smaller and measures 6 x 4 1/8 in. wide and is in good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text. There are shadows on the covers, probably from being placed next to smaller books on the shelf, faint stains on the front and rear covers, light wear near the crown and at the tips, and there are only four copies of this book offered for sale on the rare book website we use, unless you want a modern reprint, which somehow loses its flavor when it’s not the real deal. #248 #4983