Julia Ward Howe Biography with Manuscript Leaves by Howe Documenting Reform Leadership, 1915

Julia Ward Howe

First Edition

Richards, Laura E. and Howe Elliott, Maude. Julia Ward Howe: 1819–1910, 1915, compiles the life and writings of Julia Ward Howe and establishes an early twentieth-century documentary account of her role in abolition, Civil War cultural production, and the women’s suffrage movement. Produced by Howe’s daughters, the work gathers unpublished manuscripts and personal materials, preserving Howe’s intellectual and political contributions, including her authorship of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” within a familial and archival framework. The inclusion of original manuscript leaves in Howe’s hand addressing the strength of women extends the biography beyond narrative into primary documentation, linking her literary output to her sustained advocacy for gender equality and reform.

Richards, Laura E.; Howe Elliott, Maude. Julia Ward Howe: 1819–1910. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1915. First edition. Limited issue of 450 copies. Two volumes. Octavo format. Original brown cloth and paper boards with gilt spine titling; Volume I retains original white paper dust jacket printed in black gothic script indicating “Large Paper Edition.” Each volume includes an original manuscript page in Howe’s hand concerning the strength of the female sex. Illustrated with 23 plates.

Published five years after Howe’s death, the biography appears during a period of intensified suffrage activism leading toward national enfranchisement in the United States, positioning Howe’s legacy within ongoing debates over women’s political rights. The editorial decision by her daughters to integrate unpublished writings and autograph material reflects an effort to secure Howe’s place within both literary and reform histories at a moment when the suffrage movement sought historical lineage and intellectual authority. The survival of manuscript pages within a limited edition printing enhances the work’s evidentiary value as both biography and archival repository of Howe’s thought. Light wear to bindings with strong hinges and clean text; dust jacket shows expected chipping and folding with partial losses; manuscript leaves well preserved. Overall very good to near fine condition.

Item #16027

Price: $550.00