[Confederate Imprint] THE HISTORY AND DEBATES OF THE CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE OF ALABAMA, Begun and Held in the City of Montgomery, on the Seventh Day of January, 1861; in which is Preserved the Speeches of the Secret Sessions, and many Valuable State Papers by Smith, William R - 1861

Montgomery, AL: White, Pfister & Co. | printed by Wood, Hanleiter, Rice & Co, Atlanta, 1861. Half Leather. Very Good+ binding. Octavo. v, [3], xii (index) [9]-464 pp. First edition. In contemporary half sheep with marbled paper over boards. Binding is solid with limited wear; contents are foxed throughout. A remarkably nice copy.

Smith in his preface writes, "Of the Conventions of the People that have recently been held in the seceding States on the great question of dissolving the Union, there does not seem to have been any serious effort made, in any except Alabama, to preserve the Debates. It is, therefore, my agreeable fortune, not only to be able to set an example of diligence to the sister States but to combine, in an authentic record for future ages, both the acts of the Patriots of Alabama, and the fervent words by which they were mutually animated in the discharge of their great duties" (p. iii). Indeed, Howes calls this the "[p]rincipal authority on the momentous secession convention" Howes S-722 "aa." And Nevins concurs, "... this remains the best single source for what was said at Alabama's secession convention" CWB II, 239. This copy with extraordinary provenance as it belonged to Walter Henry Crenshaw (1817-1878) with his signature on the front pastedown. Crenshaw was a lawyer and planter and active in Alabama government. He spent many years in the Alabama General Assembly and was Speaker of the House throughout the war including when this convention took place. Parrish & Willingham 5864; Confederate Hundred 82; Sabin 84877.