Julia Ward Howe Biography with Tipped-In Autograph Manuscript on Democratic Morality, 1915

Julia Ward Howe

First Edition

Richards, Laura E. and Howe Elliott, Maude. Julia Ward Howe: 1819–1910, 1915, presents a documentary biography of Julia Ward Howe that consolidates her literary and reform legacy through the inclusion of unpublished writings and autograph material. Howe, a central figure in nineteenth-century abolition and women’s suffrage movements and author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” is here interpreted through a familial editorial project that assembles her intellectual output alongside narrative biography. The presence of a tipped-in manuscript leaf in Howe’s hand, addressing the democratic quality of morality and its application across social life, provides direct evidence of her philosophical engagement with equality, extending her public advocacy into moral and political thought preserved in manuscript form.

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. Volume I only. Octavo. Original brown cloth with gilt spine titling; rebound and lacking dust jacket. Illustrated with 23 plates. Includes a tipped-in autograph manuscript page in Howe’s hand, comprising approximately ten lines on the democratic character of morality.

Published in the immediate posthumous period following Howe’s death in 1910, this volume emerges within the intensifying final phase of the American women’s suffrage movement, when historical figures were actively memorialized to support contemporary campaigns for enfranchisement. The integration of manuscript material into a limited edition printing reflects an effort to preserve Howe’s intellectual authority and reform legacy within both literary and political contexts. The manuscript’s focus on democratic morality aligns with the ideological foundations of suffrage advocacy, reinforcing Howe’s role as both a cultural and political thinker. Rebound with expected wear; text and illustrations remain clear; manuscript leaf well preserved. Overall good to very good condition.

Item #16051

Price: $550.00