Inscribed by Alger to his Pupil George Seligman
King George's Middy.
Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1871.
Price: $2,500.00
About the item
First American edition. viii, 501, [1] pp. Thick 12mo. Inscribed by Alger to his Pupil George Seligman. Publisher's rust pebbled cloth. Covers lightly worn, front hinge cracked.
Item #300923
Inscribed to George (Washington) Seligman (b. 1858), son of the prominent financier Joseph Seligman: "George Seligman, from his affectionate friend, Horatio Alger Jr. Jan. 6 1871."
Alger was hired by the senior Seligman to tutor his five sons, and Alger lived at his employer's house for seven years. "Isaac and George Seligman soon became devoted to their instructor, and found his easy-going, good-humored manner greatly conducive to learning. Part of the time was passed studying grammar, literature, Greek and Latin, and at least once each week Horatio would take them strolling through nearby streets …" (Gardner, Horatio Alger, p. 200). Seligman was very pleased with Alger and on his recommendation Alger later tutored Benjamin Cardozo. The Seligmans also opened a successful investment account at their firm to manage Alger's literary earnings.
The Seligman family was the subject of one of the most widely publicized cases of anti-Semitism in the 19th century. Arriving at Saratoga in their private railway car, they were turned away by the Grand Union Hotel, where they had previously stayed. The New York Times headlined the refusal, and Henry Ward Beecher preached a sermon against discrimination.
George Washington Seligman attended Columbia College and Columbia Law School and later joined the family firm.
