Generals in Bronze: Interviewing the Commanders of the Civil War, Edited by William B Styple, First Edition, Signed and Inscribed, 2005

Styple, William B. (editor). Generals in Bronze: Interviewing the Commanders of the Civil War.  Belle Grove Publishing Company, 2005. First edition printing. Signed and inscribed by Styple on the full title page. In original boards and dust jacket. 

Presented is a first edition printing of Generals in Bronze: Interviewing the Commanders of the Civil War. The book was edited by historian and author William B. Styple and published in 2005 by Bell Grove Publishing Company. This book is presented in its original boards and dust jacket and signed and inscribed by the editor on the full title page. The inscription reads, "Best Regards, William B. Styple" in black ink. 

In 2003, historian and author William Styple first discovered artist James Edward Kelly’s papers held by the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library. Among the twenty-seven boxes in the collection were Kelly’s original notebooks. The notebooks were filled with hundreds of pages of interviews Kelly did with Union Civil War generals after the war. After many hours transcribing Kelly’s notebooks, Styple edited and published these interviews in 2005.

James Edward Kelly (1855-1933) was a talented illustrator and bronze sculptor. In the years following the Civil War, Kelly interviewed over forty Union generals after being commissioned to sketch their portraits and portray them in bronze. He conducted in-depth interviews with notable figures such as Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Alexander S. Webb, Philip Sheridan, Joseph L. Chamberlain, Joseph Hooker, Winfield Scott Hancock, and Alfred Pleasonton. Kelly strove to be as accurate as he could in his illustrations and was exhaustive in his historical research. In addition to the interviews,  Kelly took down detailed notes about the sitters’ physical appearances, demeanor, and character traits. 

Kelly explained, "I had always felt a great lack of certain personal details. I made up my mind to ask from living officers every question I would have asked Washington or his generals had they posed for me, such as: What they considered the principal incidents in their career and particulars about costumes and surroundings.'' These interviews and notes by Kelly resulted in a truly unique record of the lives of the great figures of the American Civil War.

William B. Styple has edited, co-authored, and authored several works on the Civil War. His book The Little Bugler won the Young Readers' Award from the Civil War Round Table of New York.

CONDITION:

Good condition overall. Presented in original boards and dust jacket, Pages are healthy. Dust jacket has some evidence of wear, due to age. Signed "Best Regards, William B. Styple" in black ink on full title page.