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Churchill, Winston S.. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Ltd, London, 1937.

Price: US$47.25 + shipping

Condition: Fair

Description: 335, illus., index, bds. scuffed & some wear, wrinkling inside rear board, some foxing to text.

Seller: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.

Churchill, Winston (1874-1965). Great contemporaries / by Winston S. Churchill. London : Thornton Butterworth Ltd, 1937.

Price: US$54.52 + shipping

Description: Good copy in the original title-blocked cloth. Boards dust-toned. Spine bands and panel edges slightly bumped and rubbed as with age. Some foxing to spine cover. Scattered foxing internally. Remains quite well-preserved overall. Physical description; 335 pages, 21 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, portraits, plates ; 22 cm. Notes; Includes index. Contents; The Earl of Rosebery -- The ex-Kaiser -- George Bernard Shaw -- Joseph Chamberlain -- Sir John French -- John Morley -- Hindenburg -- Boris Savinkov -- Herbert Henry Asquith -- Lawrence of Arabia -- 'F.E.' first Earl of Birkenhead --Marshal Foch -- Leon Trotsky, alias Bronstein -- Alfonso XIII -- Douglas Haig -- Arthur James Balfour -- Hitler and his choice --George Nathaniel Curzon -- Phillip Snowden -- Clemenceau -- King George V. Subjects; Geschichte 1850-1900. Biography. Biographies. Europeans, 1890-1939 ; Biography. Statesmen 20th century ; Biography. Biography 20th century. Great Britain ; Biography. Great Britain History 20th century. 1 Kg.

Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland

CHURCHILL, The Rt Hon WINSTON. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth 1937, 1937.

Price: US$58.64 + shipping

Description: FIRST EDITION, 2nd IMP., LACKS D/W, super octavo, blue buckram boards, gilt lettering to spine & front board, top page edges stained blue, 335pp, illus/photos, VG (light bruising to extrems, moderate fading to spine & front board edges, light tanning & foxing/soiling to page edges & eps, sm gift inscription in ink to ffep, minor cracking to rear gutter, protective clear cover loosely attached)

Seller: Hard to Find Books NZ (Internet) Ltd., Dunedin, OTAGO, New Zealand

Churchill, Winston (1874-1965). Great contemporaries / by Winston S. Churchill. London : Thornton Butterworth Ltd, 1937.

Price: US$68.74 + shipping

Description: Good copy in the original title-blocked cloth. Boards dust-toned. Spine bands and panel edges slightly bumped and rubbed as with age. Some foxing to spine cover. Scattered foxing internally. Remains quite well-preserved overall. Physical description; 335 pages, 21 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, portraits, plates ; 22 cm. Notes; Includes index. Contents; The Earl of Rosebery -- The ex-Kaiser -- George Bernard Shaw -- Joseph Chamberlain -- Sir John French -- John Morley -- Hindenburg -- Boris Savinkov -- Herbert Henry Asquith -- Lawrence of Arabia -- 'F.E.' first Earl of Birkenhead --Marshal Foch -- Leon Trotsky, alias Bronstein -- Alfonso XIII -- Douglas Haig -- Arthur James Balfour -- Hitler and his choice --George Nathaniel Curzon -- Phillip Snowden -- Clemenceau -- King George V. Subjects; Geschichte 1850-1900. Biography. Biographies. Europeans, 1890-1939 ; Biography. Statesmen 20th century ; Biography. Biography 20th century. Great Britain ; Biography. Great Britain History 20th century. 1 Kg.

Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.

CHURCHILL Winston S.. GREAT CONTEMPORARIES. Thornton Butterworth Ltd, 1937.

Price: US$72.67 + shipping

Condition: Near Fine

Description: RO60124364: 1937. In-8. Relié. Bon état, Couv. légèrement passée, Dos satisfaisant, Intérieur acceptable. 334 pages. Illustré de nombreuses photos en noir et blanc hors texte. Tranche en tête grise. Annotations en page de garde (ex-libris). Jaquette manquante. . . . Classification Dewey : 420-Langue anglaise. Anglo-saxon

Seller: Le-Livre, SABLONS, France

CHURCHILL, Right Honourable Winston. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$77.97 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: Published: 1937. 3rd Impression. DESCRIPTION: Original publishers blue cloth. Language: English. Book Condition: Good: Light wear to corners, edges and spine ends. Lightly sunned spine. Lightly rubbed cloth. Tightly bound with lightly toned intact endpapers. Strong hinges. Spotting and light foxing to fly pages and rear pages. Spotted text block edges with some spotting primarily to pages margins. DJ Condition: No DJ. Pages 334. Size: 22cm by 14cm. BOOK RESUME: GREAT CONTEMPORARIES is a collection of essays about 21 men whom Winston S. Churchill felt contributed to the course of the world in which he lived. The central theme is a group of British statesmen who shone in the late 1800s and early in this century--Blafour, Chamberlain, Rosebery, Morley, Asquith and Curzon. Others whose acquaintance we make through Churchills eyes include George Bernard Shaw, Hindenburg, Lawrence of Arabia, Marshall Foch, Leon Trotsky, Phillip Snowden, Clemenceaus and King George V.

Seller: Jacket and Cloth, Chippenham, United Kingdom

CHURCHILL, Winston S.. Great Contemporaries.. , 1937.

Price: US$201.57 + shipping

Description: London: Thornton Butterworth, (1937). 8vo. Orig. full blue buckram with gilt title on front cover & spine. (336pp.). With 21 full-page portrs. 1st ed. Toning on end-papers, otherwise a fine and complete copy. (Woods A43a).

Seller: Berkelouw Rare Books, Berrima, NSW, Australia

Winston S. Churchill. GREAT CONTEMPORARIES -Later Impression of the First English Edition-. Thornton Butterworth Ltd., London, 1937.

Price: US$425.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: This is a very good copy of the Fifth Impression of the First English edition, without dust jacket. The cloth is very faintly spotted, the spine is mildly faded, the contents are fine, with light, scattered foxing to the prelims and fore-edges only First English Edition (Fifth Impression] (Cohen A105.1.e) (Woods A43a). 8vo (387 pages; illustrated with 25 portrait photographs)

Seller: CHARTWELL BOOKSELLERS, NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A.

CHURCHILL, Winston.. Great Contemporaries.. Thornton Butterworth, London., 1937.

Price: US$454.84 + shipping

Description: First edition. Octavo. 335 pages. Illustrations. Essays on George Bernard Shaw, Douglas Haig, Lawrence of Arabia, Sir John French, Hindenburg, Joseph Chamberlain, the Ex-Kaiser, Clemenceau, Herbert Henry Asquith, Leon Trotsky, Arthur Balfour, Marshal Foch, King George V, Adolf Hitler etc.Spine slightly faded. Near fine. No dustwrapper.

Seller: Peter Ellis, Bookseller, ABA, ILAB, London, United Kingdom

CHURCHILL, Winston S.. Great Contemporaries.. London: Thornton Butterworth Ltd, 1937, 1937.

Price: US$487.33 + shipping

Description: First edition, first impression, a bibliographical enigma: Cohen's "second state", this being the only copy he ever identified, from his personal collection, with his pencilled ownership inscription on the front free endpaper. Cohen's entry in full reads: "I have examined a most unusual copy in which there is a second p. 57, which appears not to be a singleton, as one would expect in the circumstances, but rather the right-hand leaf of a conjugate pair of which the left-hand leaf, D3, has been cancelled and replaced by a leaf on which the text has been changed (with the result, of course, since the original has been removed, that there remains but a single extra leaf in this signature). On the cancellans, 53.16, reads ''The Funeral march of a fried eel.' His most serious work' rather than ''the burial march of a monkey' His most serious work' as in the first state. On the right hand-leaf, the note reads 'Written in 1925. Alas, we laughed too soon.' rather than 'Alas, we laughed too soon.' as in the first state. Although the change on p. 57 does not reappear in subsequent printings, that on p. 53 is the text of all printings from the third on. I consider that the later textual version of p. 53 points convincingly to the conclusion that such copies are second, rather than first states of the first printing; however, I have no explanation for the unique appearance of the text of p. 57 found here" (Cohen, vol. I, p. 471). Cohen A105.1.b. Richard Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, top edge blue. With 21 photographic plates. Front pastedown with bookplate of Claud Lambton (1888-1976), son of the 4th Earl of Durham, and bookseller's ticket of Henry Sotheran (who sold the book to Cohen). Spine a little sunned, a few spots to cloth and edges: a very good copy.

Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom

CHURCHILL, [Sir] Winston Spencer (1874-1965). Great Contemporaries. London: Thornton Butterworth, 1937, 1937.

Price: US$584.80 + shipping

Description: [Political biographies] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION, First Impression. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[2] 335 [3]. With twenty-one photographic portrait plates. Recent navy half morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles and rampant lion tooling to spine, and blue cloth over boards. Top edge gilt. A light trim to all edges. Internally crisp and clean, presented in an attractive new leather binding. This volume collects Churchill's classic series of essays on major world figures of the day, including: Lawrence of Arabia, George Bernard Shaw, Trotsky, Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler, and King George V.

Seller: Adrian Harrington Ltd, PBFA, ABA, ILAB, Royal Tunbridge Wells, KENT, United Kingdom

CHURCHILL, [Sir] Winston Spencer (1874-1965). Great Contemporaries. London: Thornton Butterworth, 1937, 1937.

Price: US$584.80 + shipping

Description: [Political biographies] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION, First Impression. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[2] 335 [3]. With twenty-one photographic portrait plates. Bound in navy half morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles and rampant lion tooling to spine, and blue cloth over boards. Top edge gilt. Internally crisp and clean, presented in an attractive recent leather binding. This volume collects Churchill's classic series of essays on major world figures of the day, including: Lawrence of Arabia, George Bernard Shaw, Trotsky, Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler, and King George V.

Seller: Adrian Harrington Ltd, PBFA, ABA, ILAB, Royal Tunbridge Wells, KENT, United Kingdom

Winston S. Churchill. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$650.00 + shipping

Description: This is the British first edition, second printing, increasingly scarce thus with a clean, bright binding protected by its dust jacket. This copy is from the personal library of Churchill's bibliographer, Ronald Cohen. Great Contemporaries is Churchill's much-praised collection of insightful essays about 21 leading personalities of the day - including the likes of Lawrence, Shaw, and, most famously, Hitler. This second printing was issued in September 1937, the same month as the first printing, and is virtually identical in appearance. The binding and contents are identical with the sole exception of notation of the second printing on the copyright page. The second printing dust jacket faces, spine, and rear flap are identical to those of the first printing. Only the lower front flap text differs.This is a very good plus copy in a very good dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is square, clean and tight with sharp corners and bright gilt on the front cover and spine. We note only minor wrinkling at the spine ends and the mildest of uniform toning to the spine. The contents are clean and bright with no spotting, little age-toning, and strong, uniform hue to the blue stained top edges. Provenance is doubly Canadian; Ronald Cohen wrote "From the library | of | Ronald I. Cohen" in pencil on the front free endpaper recto, which also features the tipped on bookseller’s ticket of "Burton’s Limited Booksellers & Stationers" of "Montreal". The dust jacket is unclipped, retaining the original lower front flap price and substantially complete, with only fractional loss at the spine ends and flap fold corners. The dust jacket is clean, retaining strong orange hue, the spine only mildly and uniformly toned. Modest wear is confined to the edges, flap folds, and joints. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.Neville Chamberlain, perhaps Churchill’s most vexing political opponent at the time Great Contemporaries was published, wrote to Churchill on 4 October 1937: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance is a constant source of wonder to me." Naturally, in the course of sketching the character of his contemporaries Churchill necessarily reveals some of his own character and perspective.Churchill's portrait of T.E. Lawrence, published here just a few years before the Second World War, might well have been written about the author rather than by him: "The impression of the personality of Lawrence remains living and vivid upon the minds of his friends, and the sense of his loss is in no way dimmed among his countrymen. All feel the poorer that he has gone from us. In these days dangers and difficulties gather upon Britain and her Empire, and we are also conscious of a lack of outstanding figures with which to overcome them. Here was a man in whom there existed not only an immense capacity for service, but that touch of genius which everyone recognizes and no one can define." (Great Contemporaries, p.164) Churchill's piece about Hitler can be a shock to the modern ear, as it underscores his ability to write a balanced appraisal of his subject while expressing his earnest desire to avoid the war that he would fight with such ferocious resolve only a few years later. There is a reason this book has seen many subsequent editions in the intervening years. It was written with what has been called "penetrating evaluation, humor, and understanding."While some of the subjects of Churchill's sketches have receded into history, many remain well-known and all remain compellingly drawn. This is as engaging a read today as it was in 1937. Reference: Cohen A105.1.c, Woods/ICS A43(a.2), Langworth p.178.

Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.

Winston S. Churchill. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$750.00 + shipping

Description: This is the British first edition, third printing, increasingly scarce thus with a clean, bright binding protected by its third printing dust jacket. Great Contemporaries is Churchill's much-praised collection of insightful essays about 21 leading personalities of the day - including the likes of Lawrence, Shaw, and, most famously, Hitler. This third printing was issued in October 1937, the same month as the first and second printings, and is virtually identical in appearance. The binding and contents are identical with the sole exception of notation of the first through third printings on the copyright page. The third printing dust jacket faces, spine, and rear flap are identical to those of the first printing. Only the lower front flap text differs.This copy is near fine in a very good plus dust jacket. The blue cloth binding approaches immaculate – square, clean, and strikingly bright with sharp corners. We note only a trivial hint of shelf wear to extremities and a tiny, superficial blemish on the upper front cover. The contents are equally impressive – crisp and bright, entirely free of spotting, the blue-stained top edges retaining strong, uniform hue, the fore and bottom edges mildly age-toned but otherwise clean. We would grade condition a "fine" if not for a circular embossed previous owner name at the lower right of the title page. The dust jacket is impressively complete, excepting only fractional loss at the flap fold extremities, and the orange hue is well-preserved, with only quite mild color shift to the spine. Light soiling, minor wear to extremities, and a vertical crease to the spine are flaws more than compensated by the color and completeness of the jacket, which is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.Neville Chamberlain, perhaps Churchill’s most vexing political opponent at the time Great Contemporaries was published, wrote to Churchill on 4 October 1937: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance is a constant source of wonder to me." Naturally, in the course of sketching the character of his contemporaries Churchill necessarily reveals some of his own character and perspective.Churchill's portrait of T.E. Lawrence, published here just a few years before the Second World War, might well have been written about the author rather than by him: "The impression of the personality of Lawrence remains living and vivid upon the minds of his friends, and the sense of his loss is in no way dimmed among his countrymen. All feel the poorer that he has gone from us. In these days dangers and difficulties gather upon Britain and her Empire, and we are also conscious of a lack of outstanding figures with which to overcome them. Here was a man in whom there existed not only an immense capacity for service, but that touch of genius which everyone recognizes and no one can define." (Great Contemporaries, p.164) Churchill's piece about Hitler can be a shock to the modern ear, as it underscores his ability to write a balanced appraisal of his subject while expressing his earnest desire to avoid the war that he would fight with such ferocious resolve only a few years later. There is a reason this book has seen many subsequent editions in the intervening years. It was written with what has been called "penetrating evaluation, humor, and understanding."While some of the subjects of Churchill's sketches have receded into history, many remain well-known and all remain compellingly drawn. This is as engaging a read today as it was in 1937. Reference: Cohen A105.1.d, Woods/ICS A43(a.3), Langworth p.178.

Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.

Winston S. Churchill. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$750.00 + shipping

Description: This is the British first edition, second printing, increasingly scarce thus with a clean, bright binding protected by its dust jacket. Great Contemporaries is Churchill's much-praised collection of insightful essays about 21 leading personalities of the day - including the likes of Lawrence, Shaw, and, most famously, Hitler. This second printing was issued in September 1937, the same month as the first printing, and is virtually identical in appearance. The binding and contents are identical with the sole exception of notation of the second printing on the copyright page. The second printing dust jacket faces, spine, and rear flap are identical to those of the first printing. Only the lower front flap text differs.This copy is near fine in a very good dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is impressively square, tight, and clean, with sharp corners and only a mild hint of toning to the spine. The contents are equally impressive – crisp and bright, entirely free of spotting, the blue-stained top edges retaining strong, uniform hue, the fore and bottom edges mildly age-toned but otherwise clean. The dust jacket is impressively complete, excepting only fractional loss at the joint and flap fold extremities, and the orange hue is well-preserved, with only quite mild color shift to the spine. Light soiling and minor wear to extremities are more than offset by the well-preserved hue and relative completeness of the jacket, which is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.Neville Chamberlain, perhaps Churchill’s most vexing political opponent at the time Great Contemporaries was published, wrote to Churchill on 4 October 1937: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance is a constant source of wonder to me." Naturally, in the course of sketching the character of his contemporaries Churchill necessarily reveals some of his own character and perspective.Churchill's portrait of T.E. Lawrence, published here just a few years before the Second World War, might well have been written about the author rather than by him: "The impression of the personality of Lawrence remains living and vivid upon the minds of his friends, and the sense of his loss is in no way dimmed among his countrymen. All feel the poorer that he has gone from us. In these days dangers and difficulties gather upon Britain and her Empire, and we are also conscious of a lack of outstanding figures with which to overcome them. Here was a man in whom there existed not only an immense capacity for service, but that touch of genius which everyone recognizes and no one can define." (Great Contemporaries, p.164) Churchill's piece about Hitler can be a shock to the modern ear, as it underscores his ability to write a balanced appraisal of his subject while expressing his earnest desire to avoid the war that he would fight with such ferocious resolve only a few years later. There is a reason this book has seen many subsequent editions in the intervening years. It was written with what has been called "penetrating evaluation, humor, and understanding."While some of the subjects of Churchill's sketches have receded into history, many remain well-known and all remain compellingly drawn. This is as engaging a read today as it was in 1937. Reference: Cohen A105.1.c, Woods/ICS A43(a.2), Langworth p.178.

Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.

THE RT. HON. WINSTON S. CHURCHILL. GREAT CONTEMPORARIES. THORNTON BUTTERWORTH, LONDON, 1937.

Price: US$753.74 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: FIRST PRINTING. FIRST EDITION HARDBACK WITH AN EARLY ISSUE DUST JACKET FROM THE SAME YEAR & MONTH AS THE FIRST ISSUE JACKET PRICED AT 21s. NET, NUMEROUS FULL PAGE PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES, HALF TITLE PRESENT. BOOK MEASURES APPROX 9 X 6 INCHES WITH 335 PAGES. MINOR CHIPS AT TOP & BOTTOM OF SPINE ON JACKET WITH SPINE OF JACKET & CLOTH SPINE SLIGHTLY FADED, FEW SMALL AREAS OF MINOR FADING TO CLOTH BOARDS, ENDPAPERS LIGHTLY BROWNED WITH A NAME TO FRONT ENDPAPER, VERY ODD SPOT OF LIGHT FOXING. OVERALL A VERY GOOD ACCEPTABLE COPY WITH BOARDS FIRMLY ATTACHED & MAJORITY OF PAGES CLEAN. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BOOK HAS A CLEAR REMOVABLE COVERING THAT DOES SHOW SOME REFLECTIONS IN IMAGES. EXTRA POSTAGE COSTS MAY APPLY TO OVERSEAS ORDERS. ALL BOOKS POSTED IN STURDY BOOK BOX.

Seller: Elder Books, Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, United Kingdom

Winston S. Churchill. GREAT CONTEMPORARIES -First English "Times Book Club" Edition-. Thornton Butterworth Ltd., London, 1937.

Price: US$850.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: This is a very good copy of the rarely seen [London] "Times Book Club" edition, which was bound from Second edition sheets but in a plainer binding of smooth dark blue cloth. The externals here are exemplary, with brilliant blue cloth and bright gilt titles. The contents are fine, with a former owner name inked on the front free endpaper and faint foxing throughout. There is toning to the endpapers front and rear, and a tiny "Times Book Club" inkstamp on the rear pastedown. Truly scarce, especially in this condition. First English ?Times Book Club? Edition (Cohen A105.4) (Woods A43b). 8vo (387 pages, illustrated with 25 portrait photographs)

Seller: CHARTWELL BOOKSELLERS, NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A.

Winston S. Churchill. GREAT CONTEMPORARIES -First English Edition-. Thornton Butterworth Ltd., London, 1937.

Price: US$1500.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: This is a very good copy of the First English edition without dust jacket.The book is extremely fresh, crisp and bright. The binding is square and tight, the corners are sharp, the blue cloth has only mildly faded. The contents are fine and unfoxed, with a slight scrape to an upper edge of the rear pastedown. Else fine. A lovely volume. First English Edition (Cohen A105.1.a) (Woods A43a). 8vo (335 pages, illustrated with 21 portrait photographs)

Seller: CHARTWELL BOOKSELLERS, NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A.

Winston S. Churchill. Great Contemporaries, magnificently bound in full Morocco and slipcased. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$2000.00 + shipping

Description: This is an exquisitely finely bound copy of the first edition, first printing. Great Contemporaries is Churchill's much-praised collection of insightful essays about 21 leading personalities of the day - including the likes of Lawrence, Shaw, and, most famously, Hitler. The elegant, dark green, full Morocco goatskin binding features a hubbed spine with gilt-rule framed and decorated bands, gilt rules at the spine head and tail, Churchill’s ancestral Marlborough arms in gilt on the front cover, and a red calf spine label. The contents are bound with all edges gilt, a green silk ribbon marker, gold and green silk head and tail bands, and elaborately gilt-tooled turn-ins framing sumptuous marbled endpapers. This compellingly handsome example of the fine binder’s craft is a reminder to collectors that not all fine bindings are created equal.The volume is housed in a stout, green buckram slipcase with Churchill’s ancestral Marlborough arms in gilt on the right side.Condition is magnificently fine. The exceptional binding shows no wear or blemishes. The first edition contents are well suited to the binding, immaculately crisp and clean with no spotting or previous ownership marks. The gilt page edges are likewise pristine. The slipcase is in fine condition, with no wear or blemishesNeville Chamberlain, perhaps Churchill’s most vexing political opponent at the time Great Contemporaries was published, wrote to Churchill on 4 October 1937: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance is a constant source of wonder to me." Naturally, in the course of sketching the character of his contemporaries Churchill necessarily reveals some of his own character and perspective.Churchill's portrait of T.E. Lawrence, published here just a few years before the Second World War, might well have been written about the author rather than by him: "The impression of the personality of Lawrence remains living and vivid upon the minds of his friends, and the sense of his loss is in no way dimmed among his countrymen. All feel the poorer that he has gone from us. In these days dangers and difficulties gather upon Britain and her Empire, and we are also conscious of a lack of outstanding figures with which to overcome them. Here was a man in whom there existed not only an immense capacity for service, but that touch of genius which everyone recognizes and no one can define." (Great Contemporaries, p.164) Churchill's piece about Hitler can be a shock to the modern ear, as it underscores his ability to write a balanced appraisal of his subject while expressing his earnest desire to avoid the war that he would fight with such ferocious resolve only a few years later. There is a reason this book has seen many subsequent editions in the intervening years. It was written with what has been called "penetrating evaluation, humor, and understanding."While some of the subjects of Churchill's sketches have receded into history, many remain well-known and all remain compellingly drawn. This is as engaging a read today as it was in 1937. Reference: Cohen A105.1.a, Woods/ICS A43(a.1), Langworth p.178.

Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.

Winston S. Churchill. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$2400.00 + shipping

Description: This is the British first edition, first printing, increasingly scarce thus with a clean, unfaded binding protected by a first printing dust jacket. Great Contemporaries is Churchill's much-praised collection of insightful essays about 21 leading personalities of the day - including the likes of Lawrence, Shaw, and, most famously, Hitler. This copy is very good in a good plus dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is clean and tight, with deep, unfaded blue hue, no color shift between the covers and spine, and vivid spine and front cover gilt. Trivial shelf wear appears primarily confined to the spine ends and corners. The contents remain respectably bright with a crisp feel, though with intermittent spotting throughout and to the page edges. The blue-stained top edge retains strong, uniform hue. Differential toning to the endpapers corresponding to the dust jacket flaps confirms what the binding already testifies – that this copy has spent life jacketed. Four inked lines on the front free endpaper recto read "Comprado [bought] en London Oct 7 1937 | Park Lane Hotel 12 Oct 1937 | Ramon de la Vota". The only other previous ownership mark we find is the number "1384" in a different hand inked and circled directly above.There were six printings of the first edition between October and December of 1937, but from the second printing on there are differences to the dust jackets, rendering the first printing dust jacket elusive. This first printing dust jacket is unclipped, retaining the original lower front flap price. There is a loss at the spine heel to a maximum depth of 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) with lesser losses to the upper hinges and flap fold extremities. The jacket shows moderate overall soiling with mild, even toning to the spine. The dust jacket is protected beneath a removable, clear, archival cover.The character sketches herein offer remarkable portraits of both their subjects and the author. Churchill's piece about Hitler can be a shock to the modern ear, as it underscores his ability to write a balanced appraisal of his subject while expressing his earnest desire to avoid the war that he would fight with such ferocious resolve only a few years later. Neville Chamberlain, perhaps Churchill’s most vexing political opponent at the time, wrote to Churchill on 4 October 1937 to say: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance is a constant source of wonder to me. But the result is to give great pleasure and entertainment " It was written with what has been called "penetrating evaluation, humor, and understanding." Churchill's balanced and nuanced perspectives contrast favorably with those of more polemic writers – both then and now. In the course of sketching the character of his contemporaries Churchill necessarily reveals much of his own character and perspective. Churchill's portrait of T.E. Lawrence, published here just a few years before the Second World War, might well have been written about the author rather than by him: "The impression of the personality of Lawrence remains living and vivid upon the minds of his friends, and the sense of his loss is in no way dimmed among his countrymen. All feel the poorer that he has gone from us. In these days dangers and difficulties gather upon Britain and her Empire, and we are also conscious of a lack of outstanding figures with which to overcome them. Here was a man in whom there existed not only an immense capacity for service, but that touch of genius which everyone recognizes and no one can define." (Great Contemporaries, p.164) While some of the subjects of Churchill's sketches have receded into history, many remain well-known and all remain compellingly drawn.Reference: Cohen A105.1.a, Woods/ICS A43(a.1), Langworth p.178.

Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.

Winston S. Churchill. GREAT CONTEMPORARIES -First English Edition in Dust Jacket-. Thornton Butterworth Ltd., London, 1937.

Price: US$3250.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: This is a very good copy of the First English edition in the rare and extremely handsome dust jacket, which is a bit age-darkened, with light creases along the lower edge of the front face and some separation at the spine head. The jacket is unclipped but the front flap bears some slight transfer of ink from the former-owner name that is inked on the front free endpaper. The book is virtually mint, inside and out; crisp, square, tight and unfoxed. First English Edition (Cohen A105.1.a) (Woods A43a). 8vo (335 pages, illustrated with 21 portrait photographs)

Seller: CHARTWELL BOOKSELLERS, NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A.

CHURCHILL, Winston S.. Great Contemporaries.. London: Thornton Butterworth Ltd, 1937, 1937.

Price: US$3573.75 + shipping

Description: First edition, first impression, first state, very scarce in the jacket, of Churchill's collection of essays on the outstanding figures of his age, including reflections on T. E. Lawrence, Trotsky, and Hitler; "it is, of course, an important part of the canon and belongs in every library" (Langworth, p. 179). On receiving his advance copy, Neville Chamberlain wrote to Churchill immediately: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance, in the midst of all your other occupations is a constant source of wonder to me" (quoted in Cohen). Provenance: the collection of Steve Forbes. Cohen A105.1.a (with first state uncorrected text on p. 53); Woods A43(a). Richard Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, top edge blue. With dust jacket. With 21 photographic plates. Unclipped jacket with light soiling and wear at extremities, a little rubbed, minor stain to spine panel: a fine copy in very good jacket.

Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom

Winston S. Churchill. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$3600.00 + shipping

Description: This is an unusually clean and bright jacketed copy of the British first edition, first printing. Great Contemporaries is Churchill's much-praised collection of insightful essays about 21 leading personalities of the day - including the likes of Lawrence, Shaw, and, most famously, Hitler. This copy is fine in a very good dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is superlative – immaculately clean, square, and tight, with deep, unfaded blue hue, and sharp corners. We note only a touch of wrinkling at the spine ends and perhaps the slightest hint of shelf wear to the edges. The contents are likewise immaculate – improbably bright and crisp with no spotting and no previous ownership marks. The blue top stain remains evenly dark. Differential toning to the dust endpapers corresponding to the dust jacket flaps confirms what the magnificent binding already testifies – that this copy has spent life jacketed. The book feels unread.There were six printings of the first edition between October and December of 1937, but from the second printing on there are differences to the dust jackets, rendering the first printing dust jacket elusive. This particular first printing dust jacket is quite elusive thus. The dust jacket is unclipped, retaining the original lower front flap price, and nearly complete, with loss confined to the joint and flap fold extremities. The vivid orange color remains bright on the flaps and faces, with only the jacket spine showing minor toning, as well as some superficial scuffing. The dust jacket is protected beneath a removable, clear, archival cover.Neville Chamberlain, perhaps Churchill’s most vexing political opponent at the time Great Contemporaries was published, wrote to Churchill on 4 October 1937: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance is a constant source of wonder to me." Naturally, in the course of sketching the character of his contemporaries Churchill necessarily reveals some of his own character and perspective.Churchill's portrait of T.E. Lawrence, published here just a few years before the Second World War, might well have been written about the author rather than by him: "The impression of the personality of Lawrence remains living and vivid upon the minds of his friends, and the sense of his loss is in no way dimmed among his countrymen. All feel the poorer that he has gone from us. In these days dangers and difficulties gather upon Britain and her Empire, and we are also conscious of a lack of outstanding figures with which to overcome them. Here was a man in whom there existed not only an immense capacity for service, but that touch of genius which everyone recognizes and no one can define." (Great Contemporaries, p.164) Churchill's piece about Hitler can be a shock to the modern ear, as it underscores his ability to write a balanced appraisal of his subject while expressing his earnest desire to avoid the war that he would fight with such ferocious resolve only a few years later. There is a reason this book has seen many subsequent editions in the intervening years. It was written with what has been called "penetrating evaluation, humor, and understanding."While some of the subjects of Churchill's sketches have receded into history, many remain well-known and all remain compellingly drawn. This is as engaging a read today as it was in 1937. Reference: Cohen A105.1.a, Woods/ICS A43(a.1), Langworth p.178.

Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.

CHURCHILL, Winston S.. Great Contemporaries.. London: Thornton Butterworth Ltd, 1937, 1937.

Price: US$4873.30 + shipping

Description: First edition, first impression, first state, very scarce in the jacket, of Churchill's collection of essays on the outstanding figures of his age, including reflections on T. E. Lawrence, Trotsky, and Hitler; "it is, of course, an important part of the canon and belongs in every library" (Langworth, p. 179). This copy is from the collection of Churchill's bibliographer Ronald Cohen. On receiving his advance copy, Neville Chamberlain wrote to Churchill immediately: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance, in the midst of all your other occupations is a constant source of wonder to me" (quoted in Cohen). Provenance: Ronald Cohen, with his ownership inscription in pencil on the front free endpaper. Cohen's Bibliography of the Writings of Sir Winston Churchill, published in three volumes in 2006, is the authoritative source for collectors, librarians, and dealers. Cohen A105.1.a (with first state uncorrected text on p. 53); Woods A43(a). Richard Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, top edge blue. With dust jacket. With 21 photographic plates. Very slight sunning to jacket spine, a hint of peripheral rubbing, short nick at foot of rear panel, unclipped: a fine copy in near-fine jacket.

Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom

Winston S. Churchill. Great Contemporaries. Thornton Butterworth Limited, London, 1937.

Price: US$5600.00 + shipping

Description: This is the finest jacketed copy we have encountered of the British first edition, first printing. Great Contemporaries is Churchill's much-praised collection of insightful essays about 21 leading personalities of the day - including the likes of Lawrence, Shaw, and, most famously, Hitler. This copy is magnificently fine in a near fine dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is superlative – immaculately clean, square, and tight, with deep, unfaded blue hue, sharp corners, and no wear. The contents are likewise immaculate – improbably bright and crisp with no spotting, no previous ownership marks, and uniform, dark, unfaded blue top stain. Differential toning to the dust endpapers corresponding to the dust jacket flaps confirms what the magnificent binding already testifies – that this copy has spent life jacketed. The book feels unread and, if not for the evidence of time in the toning of the endpapers, could practically pass as new. There were six printings of the first edition between October and December of 1937, but from the second printing on there are differences to the dust jackets, rendering the first printing dust jacket elusive. This particular first printing dust jacket is not just elusive, but virtually unobtainable thus. The dust jacket is gorgeously bright, unclipped (retaining the original lower front flap price, and all but entirely complete, with only fractional hint of loss at the upper spine corners and flap fold corners. The vivid orange color remains deliciously bright, even on the spine, which shows only the faintest, barely discernible hint of toning. Trivial wear is confined to extremities and soiling is so mild as to be nearly insignificant. The dust jacket is protected beneath a removable, clear, archival cover.This exceptional copy is housed in a full navy blue Morocco goatskin Solander case with rounded spine and silver spine print. Neville Chamberlain, perhaps Churchill’s most vexing political opponent at the time Great Contemporaries was published, wrote to Churchill on 4 October 1937: "How you can go on throwing off these sparkling sketches with such apparent ease & such sustained brilliance is a constant source of wonder to me." Naturally, in the course of sketching the character of his contemporaries Churchill necessarilyreveals some of his own character and perspective.Churchill's portrait of T.E. Lawrence, published here just a few years before the Second World War, might well have been written about the author rather than by him: "The impression of the personality of Lawrence remains living and vivid upon the minds of his friends, and the sense of his loss is in no way dimmed among his countrymen. All feel the poorer that he has gone from us. In these days dangers and difficulties gather upon Britain and her Empire, and we are also conscious of a lack of outstanding figures with which to overcome them. Here was a man in whom there existed not only an immense capacity for service, but that touch of genius which everyone recognizes and no one can define." (Great Contemporaries, p.164) Churchill's piece about Hitler can be a shock to the modern ear, as it underscores his ability to write a balanced appraisal of his subject while expressing his earnest desire to avoid the war that he would fight with such ferocious resolve only a few years later. There is a reason this book has seen many subsequent editions in the intervening years. It was written with what has been called "penetrating evaluation, humor, and understanding."While some of the subjects of Churchill's sketches have receded into history, many remain well-known and all remain compellingly drawn. This is as engaging a read today as it was in 1937. Reference: Cohen A105.1.a, Woods/ICS A43(a.1), Langworth p.178.

Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.