Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Sir Winston Churchill. The Collected Essays (Volume 2). Library of Imperial History, 1976.
Price: US$160.11 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: One corner of the boards has a small paint mark to the edge.
Seller: High Street Books, New Mills, United Kingdom
Price: US$270.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Volume 2 only. Bound in quarter leather. The boards are a touch shelf rubbed and edge worn but remain otherwise strong and sturdy. Internally, there are no markings or inscriptions, and the pages within are neat, crisp and complete. The binding is secure. JK. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services.
Seller: Chapter 1, Johannesburg, GAU, South Africa
Price: US$448.30 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Without Slipcases. Volumes 1,2,3,4. Appears to be unread. Limited to 2000 copies. Volumes in full cream vellum bindings, gilt edges to pages.
Seller: Hay-on-Wye Booksellers, Hay-on-Wye, HEREF, United Kingdom
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: display window. Limited centenary edition complete in four volumes. All four volumes are in excellent condition, with no visible flaws apart from minor shelving wear and scuffing on spines. Spines are shaken, but binding is secure. Inside of all volumes are clean and unmarked.
Seller: Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1530.63 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition:First Printing:Book Condition:A Fine 4 Volume Centenary Limited Edition set bound in the original publishers Quarter Blue Morocco with matching marbled end papers, complete with gilt bands and gilt lettering to the spines.The top of the page edges on each volume are gilt and all volumes are internally very clean and bright and have tight bindings.Overall A Fine 4 Volume First Edition book set with FREE UK and INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING.
Seller: Bawnmore Fine and Rare Books, Rugby, United Kingdom
Price: US$1601.08 + shipping
Description: First edition, one of 3,000 sets only, which were issued in both the present binding and full vellum. This is the only collection of Churchill's periodical articles in volume form, as well as including his prefaces and introductions to works by other authors. Cohen A286; Langworth p. 355; Woods/ICS A146(b). 4 volumes, octavo. Original blue quarter rexine, gilt-lettered spines, gilt arms of Churchill to front covers of vols. 2-4, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers, blue silk page-markers. Volume 2 very lightly rubbed, volume 3 with very light marking to rexine on front cover. An excellent set.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$3200.00 + shipping
Description: This is a magnificently fine full set of Churchills Collected Essays in the vellum bindings and slipcases - among the best sets we have ever encountered. In 1976, the Library of Imperial History issued The Collected Essays of Sir Winston Churchill as a welcome follow-up to the Collected Works, which included only book-length publications. Both the content and aesthetics of this four-volume set are compelling. The set compiles most of Churchill's major forewords and periodical contributions, some of which can be otherwise found only in the original periodical publications. The essays are sorted by subject and each of the volumes has a theme - Churchill and War, Churchill and Politics, Churchill and People, and Churchill at Large.In addition to being bibliographically important, The Collected Essays are aesthetically appealing. The production quality is impressive. There were two publisher binding options for The Collected Essays - both sumptuous and one positively extravagant. The lesser of the two was bound in quarter blue Morocco and is lovely, but does not match the other 34 volumes of The Collected Works. The more elaborate binding option was full natural calfskin vellum with individual green slipcases, matching the 34 volumes of the preceding Centenary Edition of Churchill's book-length works. The bindings feature Churchill's coat of arms stamped in gilt. The text is printed on special 500-year archival paper and decorated with marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, head and foot bands, and silk ribbon markers. Each volume is protected in a dark green leather slipcase with the Churchill coat of arms stamped in gilt on the front cover.Either binding of The Collected Essays is scarce, but this more elaborate binding is rarely seen alone, as it is essential to completing a uniform full set of The Collected Works. The vellum bindings were meant to tone and age naturally, but often yellow both considerably and unevenly. We have offered precious few sets this compellingly bright and clean. The bindings are pristine, showing no discernible signs of handling, perfectly square and tight with sharp corners and no visible wear. Shelf presentation is superlative, the spines improbably bright. The only defects and variations are those inherent to the vellum. The contents are likewise immaculate, crisp and bright, with satin ribbon markers still in the original position placed by the publisher. We find no previous ownership marks. The gilt page edges are vividly bright with no discernible flaws noted. The books are clearly unread. In short, the set appears flawless. The publisher's green leather slipcases are the only part of the set to show any wear. The slipcases remain bright and clean, marred only by a few, short seam splits starting at the openings. Reference: Cohen A286, Woods/ICS A146(b), Langworth p.355.
Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Description: This is a magnificently immaculate full set of Churchills Collected Essays in the vellum bindings and slipcases - the best set we have ever encountered. In 1976, the Library of Imperial History issued The Collected Essays of Sir Winston Churchill as a welcome follow-up to the Collected Works, which included only book-length publications. Both the content and aesthetics of this four-volume set are compelling. The set compiles most of Churchill's major forewords and periodical contributions, some of which can be otherwise found only in the original periodical publications. The essays are sorted by subject and each of the volumes has a theme - Churchill and War, Churchill and Politics, Churchill and People, and Churchill at Large.In addition to being bibliographically important, The Collected Essays are aesthetically appealing. The production quality is impressive. There were two publisher binding options for The Collected Essays - both sumptuous and one positively extravagant. The lesser of the two was bound in quarter blue morocco and is lovely, but does not match the other 34 volumes of The Collected Works. The more elaborate binding option was full natural calfskin vellum with individual green slipcases, matching the 34 volumes of the preceding Centenary Edition of Churchill's book-length works. The bindings feature Churchill's coat of arms stamped in gilt. The text is printed on special 500-year archival paper and decorated with marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, head and foot bands, and silk ribbon markers. Each volume is protected in a dark green leather slipcase with the Churchill coat of arms stamped in gilt on the front cover.Either binding of The Collected Essays is scarce, but this more elaborate binding is rarely seen alone, as it is essential to completing a uniform full set of The Collected Works. The vellum bindings were meant to tone and age naturally, but often yellow both considerably and unevenly. We have never offered a set this compellingly bright and clean. This set is one of three acquired by us some years ago from a venerable London bookseller, who acquired the sets new from the publisher and stored them in a cupboard until they were made available to us. This is the last - and best - set we have of those three.The bindings are pristine, showing no discernible signs of handling, perfectly square and tight with sharp corners and no visible wear. Shelf presentation is superlative, the spines improbably bright and clean. The contents are likewise immaculate, crisp and bright, with satin ribbon markers still in the original position placed by the publisher. We find no previous ownership marks. The gilt page edges are vividly bright with no discernible flaws noted. The books are clearly unread; we are likely the first to have ever removed them from the slipcases. In short, the set appears flawless. The publisher's green leather slipcases are likewise virtually flawless. An exceptional example of an important work, with both compelling contents and striking shelf presence.Reference: Cohen A286, Woods/ICS A146(b), Langworth p.355.
Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$4113.88 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Octavo. All 50 of Churchill's published titles, arranged in 34 volumes, to mark the centenary of his birth. Lacking the 4 volume supplement which constituted the complete essays and were published later, separately. One of 1,750 sets of an intended 3,000. Full white vellum, gilt framed and with Churchill's coat-of-arms stamped in gilt, gilt spine lettering, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbon bookmark. Richly illustrated with photo reproductions, maps (some folding), charts, facsimiles, etc. A slight, natural variance in the tone of the vellum, lacking the slip-cases, else a near fine, clean, tight set. Handsome on the shelf.
Seller: Karol Krysik Books ABAC/ILAB, IOBA, PBFA, Toronto, ON, Canada
Price: US$7000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Complete set of 38 volumes. The bindings elaborately produced in full white vellum (natural variation in the vellum color), covers decorated in 22 ct. gold with Churchill's armorial device, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, silk place markers. All original leatherette slipcases present, some with cosmetic defects (nothing structural) from having been squeezed together on the same shelves UNTOUCHED for almost fifty years, the result being small portions of adjacent slipcase covers peeled away. Some volumes (e.g. Vol. 1) are very tight in their slipcases on account of the natural vellum bindings swelling. NONE of the slipcases are bumped or split, and the bindings and the contents of every volume are in IMMACULATE CONDITION, without blemishes (of any kind), bookplates, inscriptions, or ownership stamps. FIRST COMPLETE COLLECTION OF CHURCHILL'S WRITINGS, AND THE MOST LAVISH ISSUE OF IT. All of Churchill's book length writings are included, many in new reset editions, although some were photoset from earlier editions. There are 50 Churchill books (titles) in 34 volumes plus 4 volumes of Essays. Although the initially print run was expected to be 3,000 copies for the British and American market, The Library of Imperial History went bankrupt so "the print run never exceeded 2,000 copies and only 1750 sets were ever published" (Cohen). "Five million words, in 19,000 pages, weighing 90lbs, taking up 4 1/2 ft of shelf space. To achieve publication, 11 publishing houses in Great Britain, the United States and Canada released their individual copyrights, in exchange for the promise that no other complete collection of Churchill's works would be published until the expiration of international copyright in 2019." (Richard M. Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, p. 362). Our unnumbered set was issued without the limitation bookplates. THE COLLECTED ESSAYS: "The great advantage of the enterprise was the four-volume Collected Essays, the only collection of Churchill's periodical articles (other than those reprinted in his books) ever published in volume form, with afine introduction by the late Michael Wolff" (Source: Langworth, blog 11 March 2009). Cohen A286. Woods A146.
Seller: Michael Laird Rare Books LLC, Lockhart, TX, U.S.A.