In 1881, Davis published his history, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. In it, Davis again glosses over the issue of slavery, maintaining it was merely an "incident," not the cause of the War. He also argues that the slaves were happy being slaves, and it was the abolitionists who tempted them away from this happy state to instead attack their "benefactors." Revisionism is generally the preferred response when the reality of one's past is hard to justify. This copy is signed and inscribed by Davis to his very close friend Jacob Payne. Payne was co-executor of his estate, and Davis spent the final days of his life in Payne's New Orleans home. Item 116. $25,000.

We conclude the Jefferson Davis story with its natural ending: The Obsequies of Jefferson Davis. The Only President of the Confederate States of America, in the City of New Orleans, Louisiana. On Wednesday, December 11, 1889. Davis had died five days earlier, and this item was prepared as part of the honors. It was estimated that 200,000 people viewed the funeral procession. Item 204. $385.

At least Davis had the sense to know when a cause is lost. In 1910, Walter Neale addressed Virginia Confederate veterans with, not only a justification of the southern cause, but a call to take up arms again. "...take up the arms that you laid down at Appomattox, that you fight without ceasing, until southerners enjoy the rights so long denied to them. You and your children must not die as slaves." Neale neglected to add to that bit of hyperbole that he was happy to see other people and their children live and die as slaves. Item 254 is The Sovereignty of the States... $300.

You may find Chapel Hill Rare Books on the web at the long, but easy to remember address, www.chapelhillrarebooks.com. Their phone number is 919-929-8351.