[LINCOLN, Abraham]. Rare ID'd preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation, 1862.

The Proclamation of Emancipation by the President of the United States, To Take effect January 1st, 1863. [Boston: John Murray Forbes, December 1862]. 32mo (2 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.), 7pp. Original printed light brown paper wrappers, thread binding (very light creasing, light dampstaining spots on rear cover). Identified in ink above title to "Lt. G.W. Taylor / 4th Ms Arty." The seventh printed edition of the preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the only contemporary pamphlet printing.

Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was dated 22 September 1862 while the revised, final document became official on 1 January 1863. This thin, miniature pamphlet contains the full text of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation as issued by Abraham Lincoln, with a quote on back wrapper from Alex H. Stephens, "Vice President of the so-called Confederate States, delivered March 21, '61": "This stone (slavery), which was rejected by the first builders, is become the chief stone of the corner in our new edifice."

With the support of Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew and Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, Boston industrialist and abolitionist John Murray Forbes printed the miniature proclamation. The pamphlets were conceived for a specific purpose: to be sent to Union troops in the South for distribution to freedmen and enslaved men in hopes of recruiting them to fight for the Union Army. Though HDS locates dozens of Union soldiers with names or initials that match the one on this pamphlet, it appears that the most likely owner was 1st Lieutenant George W. Taylor (1832-1900) of South Danvers, Massachusetts. Taylor, a 29-year-old farmer, enlisted on 11/27/1861 as a 2nd lieutenant and mustered into the Massachusetts 4th Light Artillery. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on 9/17/1862 and captain 10/13/1865. The 4th Massachusetts Light Artillery, also known as the 4th Massachusetts Battery, was initially assigned to the Department of the Gulf, and was heavily engaged in the Battle of Baton Rouge. In 1863, the year in which Taylor would have received this proclamation, the battery participated in the Siege of Port Hudson and the Second Bayou Teche Campaign. Given that Taylor chose to ink his name on the pamphlet and retained it during the war, it seems he may have considered this his personal copy.

A rare and historic imprint, in excellent condition.

Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Ephemeral Americana and Historical Documents

This lot is located in Cincinnati.