Rep. Edwin W. Higgins u.s. Congressional Directory Set, 6 Vols. 1908-1935

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A working set of six United States Congressional Directories spanning nearly three decades of American political history, from the 60th … Read more A working set of six United States Congressional Directories spanning nearly three decades of American political history, from the 60th Congress in 1908 through the 74th Congress in 1935. Issued by the Government Printing Office at the opening of each session, these compact reference volumes list every sitting member of Congress, cabinet officer, and foreign diplomat, alongside committee rosters, biographical sketches, and maps of congressional districts — the essential handbook of official Washington in its day.

Two volumes in this set carry a distinguished personal history. The January 1908 (60th Congress, 1st Session) and January 1910 (61st Congress, 2d Session) directories are each stamped in gilt on the front cover with the name Edwin W. Higgins. Higgins, a Republican lawyer from Norwich, Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale Law School, represented Connecticut's Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1905 to 1913 — meaning these were his own working copies, issued during the very sessions in which he served. He went on to a long career as prosecuting attorney for the Court of Common Pleas, New London County.

The set comprises: Official Directory, 60th Congress, 1st Session, January 1908 (Edwin W. Higgins copy); Official Directory, 61st Congress, 2d Session, January 1910 (Edwin W. Higgins copy); Congressional Directory, 65th Congress, 2d Session, December 1917; Congressional Directory, 68th Congress, 1st Session, January 1924; and two printings from the 74th Congress, 1st Session — January 1935 and April 1935, reflecting the Directory's practice of periodic revision within a single session as membership changed. Bindings vary by year in publisher's cloth of blue, black, red, and teal, each with gilt-stamped titling to the spine. See less