The First Appearance in Book Form

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…”

This rare first book printing of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address corresponds almost exactly to the speech as transcribed by Associated Press reporter Joseph I. Gilbert. Though there is no definitive text of the speech as Lincoln delivered it, Lincoln himself used Gilbert’s version when he penned a fair copy to sell at the Sanitary Fair.

Edward Everett, the most famous orator of his day, spoke for an hour and a half. His speech, printed in full, takes up most of this volume. It is followed by a plan of the cemetery on page 32, and Lincoln’s address on pages 40 and 41, concluding with the reports on the day’s ceremonies from three New York newspapers.

The dedication ceremony and addresses took place on November 19, 1863. Many newspapers, particularly in New York, received the text by telegraph and printed it the next day. The first separate printing, a 16-page pamphlet entitled  The Gettysburg Solemnities, was published by the Washington Chronicle on November 22; only three or four copies are known to survive. This first book printing was issued on November 25, just six days after the address was delivered. The publishers advertised it in that day's New York Tribune as “ready this morning.” 

★ [ABRAHAM LINCOLN]. An Oration delivered on The Battlefield of Gettysburg, (November 19, 1863,) at the Consecration of the Cemetery Prepared for the Interment of the Remains of Those Who Fell in the Battles of July 1st, 2d, and 3d, 1863. By Edward Everett. To which is added Interesting Reports of the Dedicatory Ceremonies; Descriptions of the Battlefield; Incidents and Details of the Battle, &c.” New York: Baker & Godwin, 1863. 48 pp., 6 x 9 in. #27918.99