Wirt, William. Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry. Hartford: S. Andrus & Son, 1847. Tenth Edition, Corrected by the Author. [10896]
Full leather, scuffed and worn, front board nearly detached, 9 x 6 inches. Old bookplates and other matter from a public library, "X" in marker over the bookplates. Engraved portrait of Patrick Henry, extra engraved title page with portrait of William Wirt; 468 pages, text block tight, foxing of varying intensities. Fair. Hardcover.
A good copy for research purposes, or as a binding project.
William Wirt (1772-1834), American author and statesman, the longest-serving US Attorney General in history (1817-1829). He was a friend and/or colleague of many famous Virginians, including Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. At President Monroe's request, he was the prosecuting attorney in Aaron Burr's trial for treason, and in 1830 he argued for the rights of the Cherokee Nation before the US Supreme Court. A former Freemason, Wirt was the AntiMasonic Party's candidate for president in 1832. He was regarded by many as the chief man of letters of the American South, contributed frequently to the press, and wrote a lengthy biography of Patrick Henry, of which critics have accused him of embellishing or inventing some details of Henry's life.
