Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47105

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47105

[George A. Custer]. Group Lot of Custer Family Books (8). A group of eight volumes, comprising seven books and one autograph album, from the family of George Armstrong Custer. Four of the books are signed by Custer's extended family, and two are inscribed by his widow, Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Includes:

Custer Family Autograph Album. 8 x 5 inch black leatherbound autograph album decorated with an embroidered floral design; spine stamped in gilt, edges gilt. Thirty pages signed by members of General George Armstrong Custer's extended family throughout the late 1890s and early twentieth century. The most notable signers include his brother and sister-in-law, Nevin and Ann North Custer, as well as their children, May Reed Elmer, William Bacon Custer, James Calhoun Custer, George A. Custer II, and Claribel Custer.

Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Boots and Saddles. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1904. Original dark blue cloth, spine stamped in gilt, upper cover stamped in black and gilt. Later edition. Inscribed by Elizabeth on the front free endpaper to her niece, May: "Motto on General Custer's Spanish Sword / 'Do not draw me without cause / Do not shield me without honor.' For May / from Aunt Elizabeth / September 1907."

Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Tenting on the Plains. New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1887. Original brown cloth, spine stamped in gilt, upper cover gilt and decorated with patriotic imagery. First edition. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: "M. M. R. Custer. To May, with love from Aunt Margaret / Xmas '89." Textblock fully separated from the binding, with quires completely split at page 369.

Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Following the Guidon. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890. Original green cloth, spine stamped in gilt; upper cover gilt and decorated with patriotic imagery. First edition. Inscribed in pencil on the front free endpaper: "From Mr Wm N Sweeny / Astoria Son of Genl [Thomas William] Sweeny of Civil War." With vintage hand-colored postcard for the "Custer Institute for Research...Founded 1926" laid-in.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Custer and Other Poems. Chicago: W. B. Conkey Company, [1896]. Original light gray cloth, spine and upper cover stamped in gilt. First edition. Signed thrice in pencil by "May Custer Elmer" (General Custer's niece) on the front free endpaper, the top margin of page nine, and the rear free endpaper.

F. S. Dellenbaugh. True Stories of Great Americans: Custer. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1917. Publisher's original brown cloth, spine and upper cover stamped in red and black. First edition. Inscribed by Elizabeth Custer on the table of contents page to her niece, May: "To May with love from Aunt Elizabeth / January 1917."

Program for "Equestrian Statue of George Armstrong Custer Unveiling Ceremonies." Monroe, Michigan: [n.p.], 1910. Original tan cloth backed in dark blue, upper cover stamped in gilt. Contains information regarding the background and making of the statue, as well as a program for the unveiling ceremony which took place on June 4, 1910 and was attended by President William Howard Taft.

[Bible]. The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. New York: American Bible Society, [no date]. Original pebbled black leather, spine and upper cover stamped in gilt, covers ruled in blind. Signed, "L. Custer" on the first front free endpaper in pencil, "L. A. C. / Sept-6-1933," in pencil on the following page, and "Lula B. Custer" in ink facing the title page. A badge affixed to the front pastedown reads: "Plan your next trip over the Custer Battlefield Hiway," which was established in September 1920. It extends from Des Moines, Iowa to Glacier Park, Montana, winding a distance of 1,475 miles.

Condition: Most items exhibit moderate to heavy wear, including chips, scuffs, and occasional soiling to the bindings. Some edgewear and cracked hinges; several pages or gatherings detached, with scattered foxing or staining; toning to inner pages. Signatures are generally bold and very legible.

Provenance: Presented by Elizabeth Bacon Custer to May Custer Elmer; thence by descent and inheritance to our consignor.

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