Eastin Press' "facsimile of Pitman

[emma1231]

Last year I purchased, on ebay, #603 of Eastin Press' ltd. ed. of 1,865 copies of Pitman's trial transcript. It is beautifully bound, in a slipcase, with marble end boards, a ribbon, and gilt edge pages. I have the other hardcover eds. of Pitman that have been published (the handsome one with a forward by lawyer Alan Hershkowitz and the 1954 one by Funk & Wagnals, which is cheaply bound). I do not own an original. I have mixed feelings about it, and wonder if anyone else cares to chime in about it. The illustrations in it, except for the map of lower Maryland and the frontispiece of all of the conspirators, were not in the original. (Eastin's advance publicity stated that it is an exact facsimile, which is not the case.) If they wanted to take a little licence by adding illustrations, I think they made a poor choice. They decided to use pictures from the rare Peterson Bros. abridged version of the trial. (I also own an original Petersen, once owned by my late friend Don Kemp.) Peterson reprints are avail. as "print on demand" in India. Check Abebooks.com for them.) Pics from the Peterson edition of the conspirators were not necc. to include since they're already on the frontispiece (except for that of Dr. Mudd.) I think they would have been wiser to use related pictures from Harper's and Leslie's weeklies -- esp. of the courtroom. I love something Eastin did: -- With the exception of the spines, they covered both the book and the slipcase with the designs from the sides of Lincoln's casket! Yet they made no mention of this in their ads, which I always found puzzling. It's a clever and effective feature. Copies of this Eastin Press edition still occasionally appear on ebay. They usually range in price between $150 and $200. I recall that John C. Brennan once wrote a treatise that compared all of the contemporary transcripts of the trial. It was excellent. Good old John.

[SSlater]

(08-15-2018 12:26 PM)emma1231 Wrote:  Last year I purchased, on ebay, #603 of Eastin Press' ltd. ed. of 1,865 copies of Pitman's trial transcript. It is beautifully bound, in a slipcase, with marble end boards, a ribbon, and gilt edge pages. I have the other hardcover eds. of Pitman that have been published (the handsome one with a forward by lawyer Alan Hershkowitz and the 1954 one by Funk & Wagnals, which is cheaply bound). I do not own an original. I have mixed feelings about it, and wonder if anyone else cares to chime in about it. The illustrations in it, except for the map of lower Maryland and the frontispiece of all of the conspirators, were not in the original. (Eastin's advance publicity stated that it is an exact facsimile, which is not the case.) If they wanted to take a little licence by adding illustrations, I think they made a poor choice. They decided to use pictures from the rare Peterson Bros. abridged version of the trial. (I also own an original Petersen, once owned by my late friend Don Kemp.) Peterson reprints are avail. as "print on demand" in India. Check Abebooks.com for them.) Pics from the Peterson edition of the conspirators were not necc. to include since they're already on the frontispiece (except for that of Dr. Mudd.) I think they would have been wiser to use related pictures from Harper's and Leslie's weeklies -- esp. of the courtroom. I love something Eastin did: -- With the exception of the spines, they covered both the book and the slipcase with the designs from the sides of Lincoln's casket! Yet they made no mention of this in their ads, which I always found puzzling. It's a clever and effective feature. Copies of this Eastin Press edition still occasionally appear on ebay. They usually range in price between $150 and $200. I recall that John C. Brennan once wrote a treatise that compared all of the contemporary transcripts of the trial. It was excellent. Good old John.

If you are interested in a free copy of the Pitman records of the Assassination Trials - they are not fancy, - They are on Google.

[emma1231]

(08-16-2018 02:37 PM)SSlater Wrote:  

(08-15-2018 12:26 PM)emma1231 Wrote:  Last year I purchased, on ebay, #603 of Eastin Press' ltd. ed. of 1,865 copies of Pitman's trial transcript. It is beautifully bound, in a slipcase, with marble end boards, a ribbon, and gilt edge pages. I have the other hardcover eds. of Pitman that have been published (the handsome one with a forward by lawyer Alan Hershkowitz and the 1954 one by Funk & Wagnals, which is cheaply bound). I do not own an original. I have mixed feelings about it, and wonder if anyone else cares to chime in about it. The illustrations in it, except for the map of lower Maryland and the frontispiece of all of the conspirators, were not in the original. (Eastin's advance publicity stated that it is an exact facsimile, which is not the case.) If they wanted to take a little licence by adding illustrations, I think they made a poor choice. They decided to use pictures from the rare Peterson Bros. abridged version of the trial. (I also own an original Petersen, once owned by my late friend Don Kemp.) Peterson reprints are avail. as "print on demand" in India. Check Abebooks.com for them.) Pics from the Peterson edition of the conspirators were not necc. to include since they're already on the frontispiece (except for that of Dr. Mudd.) I think they would have been wiser to use related pictures from Harper's and Leslie's weeklies -- esp. of the courtroom. I love something Eastin did: -- With the exception of the spines, they covered both the book and the slipcase with the designs from the sides of Lincoln's casket! Yet they made no mention of this in their ads, which I always found puzzling. It's a clever and effective feature. Copies of this Eastin Press edition still occasionally appear on ebay. They usually range in price between $150 and $200. I recall that John C. Brennan once wrote a treatise that compared all of the contemporary transcripts of the trial. It was excellent. Good old John.

If you are interested in a free copy of the Pitman records of the Assassination Trials - they are not fancy, - They are on Google.