OverviewFrederick T. Hill's Lincoln the Lawyer is presented here in an unusually distinguished association copy prepared for the Lincoln Centennial Association banquet in Springfield, Illinois, on February 12, 1915. The volume is bound in quarter calf with gilt spine lettering and marbled or patterned boards by the Lincoln Binder Co. of Springfield. Its material character is inseparable from its subject: this is a book about Lincoln's legal career, specially bound in the city where that career was formed, for an event devoted to the preservation of his memory.The copy contains numerous contemporary attendee signatures, including those of James H. Cartwright and Charles C. Craig, both justices of the Illinois Supreme Court. The original banquet program and menu are retained. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum, later celebrated for Mount Rushmore, appears on the printed program as a speaker, adding another notable connection to the cultural world surrounding the event.Dating / BackgroundHill's study was first published in 1906. This specially bound copy was produced for the Lincoln Centennial Association's 1915 banquet commemorating Lincoln's 106th birthday. The event edition was limited to 800 copies. Rather than a conventional trade issue, it survives as a purpose-made artifact of organized Lincoln remembrance during the early twentieth century, when Springfield institutions were actively shaping the documentary and ceremonial legacy of the president.Why CollectThe appeal lies in the convergence of bibliography, provenance, civic history, and material culture. Collectors of Lincolniana encounter many commemorative publications, but comparatively few examples combine a limited event issue, a Springfield custom binding, contemporary judicial signatures, and surviving banquet ephemera. The volume is not merely about Lincoln; it records how prominent Illinois figures gathered to interpret and honor his legacy. Its signed pages and accompanying program transform it from a book into a document of participation.Dimensions (inches)- Height: approximately 9 1/4- Width: approximately 6 1/2- Depth: approximately 1 1/2ConditionGood condition consistent with age and use. There is light damp staining through approximately the first 133 pages, wear to the quarter calf binding, and small areas where the cover board is exposed at the rear and along the edges. The gilt spine lettering remains legible and intact. Most attendee signatures are in pencil, with some in ink. The photographs form an essential part of the condition record and should be reviewed closely.
