Tracts issued by the Loyal Publication Society, from Feb. 1, 1863, to Feb. 1, 1864. Nos. 1 to 44; Nos. 45 to 78

New York: By the Loyal Publication Society, 1864. FIRST EDITIONS. With the original printed wrappers bound in. Half-calf and cloth, calf-backed marbled boards. From the library of Admiral George Henry Preble with his signature; another ownership signature of D.W.C. Clarke. First editions of the complete set of pamphlets published by the Loyal Publication Society, whose purpose was to publish and distribute material “of unquestionable loyalty throughout the United States . . . in the army and navy, and in hospitals, thus to diffuse knowledge and stimulate a broad national patriotism, and to aid in the suppression of the Rebellion by the extinction of its causes, and in the preservation of the integrity of the Nation, by counteracting the efforts of the advocates of a disgraceful and disintegrating peace.” The Society was founded by the “literary and financial elite” of New York, including Charles King, president of Columbia University, Sinclair Tousey, president of the American News Company, the publisher George Palmer Putnam, the German-born academic Francis Lieber (who also wrote many articles published in the Tracts), and the future vice-president of the United States Levi P. Morton.

George Henry Preble (1816-1885) was not only a well-known American naval officer, but a major collector of books and artifacts. It was Admiral Preble’s photograph of the American flag over Fort McHenry that inspired the Star Spangled Banner.