Description: Up for auction a RARE! "Daniel Webster Vol I & II" Claude Fuess Hand Signed First Edition Dated 1930. ES-1058 Claude Moore Fuess (January 12, 1885 – September 11, 1963) was an American author, historian, educator, and 10th Headmaster of Phillips Academy Andover from 1933 to 1948. After attending Amherst College and earning a Ph.D at Columbia University, Fuess taught English at Phillips Academy from 1908 to 1933. As Headmaster he guided the school in a new era as it faced the Great Depression and Second World War. Concurrent with his teaching and Headmaster roles, Fuess led a writing career spanning several decades. He is credited as the author or editor of over 30 books and articles including biographies of Caleb Cushing, President Calvin Coolidge, Rufus Choate, Daniel Webster, and Carl Schurz. Fuess was born on January 12, 1885 in Waterville, New York to Louis Phillip Fuess and Helen Augusta Moore. His paternal grandfather Jacob Fuess was from Annweiler am Trifels, Germany in the Bavarian Palatinate. He fled Germany during the Revolution in 1848 and emigrated to the United States, landing in New Orleans and making his way to New York City. He had one younger brother named Harold L. Fuess, an active member of local government in and around Waterville including Town Clerk of Sangerfield, New York. Originally spelled Füsz, the family changed the spelling to Fuess due to its difficult pronunciation for Americans. According to Fuess, he and his family pronounce their name Fease. Oftentimes he would go by one his nicknames. Those he knew in high school and at Amherst College called him "Dutch." At Phillips Academy he was known as either "Jack" or "Claudie" or once Headmaster "B.D." (Bald Doctor). Someone even wrote the following poem titled "Fuess Please" in 1930 to illustrate the difficulty of his name: Fuess was an avid reader at an early age. He played football for Waterville High School's first team and cycled for the school's first track team. Cycling events included half and one-mile races around a half-mile dirt track. He entered Amherst College in the autumn of 1901 at the age of 16 and graduated in 1905. While at Amherst he grew interests in forensics, debate, and public speaking. He continued to train for Amherst's cycling team but was unable to race when the New England Committee abolished the cycling races from its athletic program. He was a member of the fraternity Alpha Delta Phi. He took courses in debate, public speaking, and German. In the fall of 1905 he entered Columbia University. After earning his M.A. in 1906, he accepted in 1908 an invitation to be an assistant in Columbia's English Department. He earned his Ph.D at the same institution in 1912, his thesis titled "Lord Byron as a Satirist in Verse". He was awarded a Doctorate of Letters, an honorary degree from Amherst College in 1929 for his career as an English teacher and author. Fuess continued to keep close connections with Amherst for the rest of his life. He was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council, President of the Society of the Alumni, for two years National President of Alpha Delta Phi, and President of the Amherst Corporate Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi. In addition, he published Amherst, The Story of a New England College in 1935 to illustrate the evolution of educational thought. Frederick Allis, who discusses Fuess in his book Youth From Every Quarter: A Bicentennial History of Phillips Academy, Andover characterizes his relationship with Amherst "clearly a love affair." Fuess earned a total of eight honorary degrees over his lifetime. Fuess began his career in teaching while a student and assistant in the English Department at Columbia. He took the advice of his mentor, Professor William P. Trent, and took a year off from school to teach at the George School, a coeducational secondary school in Pennsylvania, before making his way unexpectedly to Phillips Academy where he would settle.
Price: 249.99 USD
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
End Time: 2024-10-07T16:54:05.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money back or replacement (buyer's choice)
Industry: Historical
Signed: Yes
