Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$10000.00 + shipping
Description: This presentation copy of Winston Churchill's extremely popular autobiography was inscribed in New York City in December 1931, just weeks after Churchills near-fatal accident, almost certainly as a Christmas gift to one of the people who aided his convalescence. The inscription, inked in five lines on the half title, reads "To | Theresa Hawkins | from | Winston S. Churchill | Christmas 1931".The U.S. first edition, second printing is distinguished from the first printing by only a single character namely absence of the Scribners "A" on the title page verso. This second printings binding, contents, and dust jacket are all otherwise identical to those of the first printing. Published in December 1930, the second printing swiftly followed the first printing of late October 1930. Condition of this inscribed presentation copy is very good plus in a good dust jacket. The binding remains square and tight with sharp corners, the orange-red hue of the cloth still vivid on the spine and covers. The binding shows only light handling and soiling and a hint of toning to extremities, corresponding to small dust jacket losses. The contents are respectably clean, modest spotting mostly confined to the endpapers and prelims, only light and occasional within the text. The sole previous ownership mark is the authors inscription. Differential toning to the endpapers corresponds to the jacket flaps, confirming what the bright binding testifies - that this copy has spent life jacketed. The dust jacket is chipped and worn, but both unclipped, retaining the "$3.50" front flap price, and uncommonly bright, with the red-orange spine panel only faintly duller than that of the front face. The white spine panels and rear face show overall soiling, as does the navy panel of the lower front face. Closed tears and shallow losses are ubiquitous to the edges, the most significant being a 1.25 inch (3.2 cm) deep loss to the upper rear face corner. None of the losses impacts any print. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.When he arrived in New York on 11 December 1931 to begin a lecture tour, Churchill had already been a Member of Parliament for more than a quarter of a century and held more than half a dozen Cabinet positions. But what lay ahead was arguably more remarkable still more than thirty additional years in Parliament, as well as two premierships spanning more than eight and a half years at 10 Downing Street. This second act almost ended abruptly.Two days after he arrived in New York, on 13 December, Churchill received a dinner invitation from his old friend, Bernard Baruch. Churchill knew Baruch lived on Fifth Avenue and had been there several times, but he did not know the exact address. After he left his cab to search on foot, he was met with the peril of every transatlantic traveler; he looked the wrong way to cross the street and was consequently struck by a car. Witnesses feared he had been killed. "It was not until December 21 that Churchill was well enough to leave Lenox Hill Hospital and for two more weeks he had to remain in bed at the Waldorf-Astoria." (Gilbert, Vol. V, p.421) Hence Churchill was convalescing at the Waldorf-Astoria when this book was inscribed. While we have been unable to learn more about the recipient, "Theresa Hawkins", it seems probable to the point of near certainty that Ms. Hawkins was staff at either the Waldorf or the hospital, to whom Churchill felt sufficiently appreciative to make a gift of an inscribed book at Christmas. This was long a custom of Churchill for those who worked for him and held his regard, particularly at Christmas. This second printing of A Roving Commission would have notionally been available and procured for the occasion from a New York City bookseller, having been published late in 1930.PLEASE NOTE THAT A CONSIDERABLY MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS ITEM IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.Reference: Cohen A91.2.b, Woods/ICS A37(b.2), Langworth p. 134.
Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$18500.00 + shipping
Description: This is a rare and compelling convergence of edition, condition, popularity, and provenance. This U.S. first edition, first printing of Winston S. Churchills autobiography of his early life perhaps foremost among his most enduringly popular works is an exceptionally well-preserved copy in a likewise exceptionally well-preserved first issue dust jacket. Condition alone would render this copy magnificent, but this copy is also inscribed and dated by the author within a year of publication. The inscription, inked in three lines on the front free endpaper recto, reads: "Inscribed by | Winston S. Churchill | Sept. 1931". This first edition, first printing is distinguished thus by the first issue dust jacket and the Scribners "A" on the title page verso. This first printing was published in late October 1930, less than a year before it was inscribed. The U.S. first edition was aesthetically striking, bound in a bright red-orange cloth with vertical and horizontal intersecting blind rules of varying thickness on the front cover and spine, these framing the gilt spine and front cover print. The contents feature untrimmed fore edges. The dust jacket front face and spine feature a bright red-orange center panel, complementing the binding, capped by white ends on the spine and by navy blue panels on the front face. The net aesthetic effect is commandingly bold and arresting not unsuited to the author and content. Unfortunately, the red-orange cloth binding proved highly susceptible to fading and soiling and the thin, fragile dust jacket proved highly vulnerable to wear and severe fading, particularly on the jacket spine. Jacketed copies of the U.S. first edition are scarce and respectable unjacketed copies are unusual.This copy truly impresses. Conservatively, we grade both the volume and dust jacket as near fine. It would be exceptional thus for condition alone. Inscribed and dated, it is a prize. Even without hyperbolizing, we will nonetheless swiftly run short of superlatives. The red-orange cloth binding is square, clean, bright, and tight, with no appreciable color shift between the covers and spine. We note only incidental signs of handling in the form of a barely discernible hint of soiling to the spine and very lightly bruised lower corners. The contents are simply the brightest and cleanest we have ever seen, improbably bright in fact. Even the page edges including the top edge and untrimmed fore edges are strikingly bright and clean. Searching for flaws we note only a little original binding glue residue to the bottom edge of the text block adjacent to the spine, two small marks to the front pastedown (as if from something once laid in) and a light, faint finger smudge to the bottom edge of the front free endpaper notionally, though certainly not definitively, dating from when the page was inscribed by the author.The dust jacket is simply the best-preserved example we have ever seen entirely complete with no loss or tears, and, like the contents strikingly, improbably, magnificently bright. Soiling is incidental. If not for a negligible wear to extremities and some scuffs to the beautifully bight orange spine panel, one might not believe this is an original first issue jacket. Marvelously, it most certainly is. The jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.The authors inscription remains distinct, showing only mild spread and fade consonant with the ink and age. It seems clear that Churchills pen was imperfect on the day, evidenced by a little bleed of the ink in the "ed" of "Inscribed" and a stray mark at the top of the "W" in "Winston".This copy is housed in a dark red cloth Solander case with gilt-printed, black leather spine label.Reference: Cohen A91.2.a, Woods/ICS A37(b.1), Langworth p. 134.
Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.