Republic or Empire

Chicago: Independence Company, 1899. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/No dust jacket as issued. Octavo. 9.0 x 6.0 inches. 762pp. Publisher’s brown cloth. Bradel bound with head and tail bands. Front board lettered in gilt and embossed with map in black. Spine lettered in gilt. Patterned endpapers. Portrait and facsimile signature of William Jennings Bryan as frontispiece. Illustrated with numerous greyscale plates depicting scenes in the Philippines, as well as portraits and facsimile autographs of prominent contemporary public figures. Case rubbed and edge worn with spots of light staining. Tips tender. Gilt on front board worn, but present. Spine lettering very faded. Fraying at head and tail of spine. Front board loose; front hinge cracked through endpaper with only the mull holding. Text block solid and complete. Old price inked on ffep. Penciled writing on frontis verso. Pages age toned. Leaf 359/360 gouged through with no material loss. Pages 391-400 torn through upper leading margin, not affecting text. Page 400 and facing plate scuffed with chip to leading edge of plate. Arguments presented by Bryan and coauthors, against American imperialism and the annexation of the Philippines.