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Price: US$7729.58 + shipping
Description: First editions, first impressions of volumes II-VI, third edition of volume I, which is inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "T. B. Wall from Winston S. Churchill, Westminster Election 1924". Churchill stood for the seat of Westminster Abbey in a by-election on 19 March 1924. He had lost his seat in Dundee in 1922 and ran as a Constitutionalist, but was defeated by 43 votes by the Unionist candidate Otho Nicholson. Churchill later returned to parliament for Epping in the October 1924 election as a Constitutionalist, but sitting with the Conservatives. Working with astonishing speed and energy, Churchill produced this mammoth history of the First World War in the aftermath of electoral defeat. The work deals with his reorganization of the Royal Navy in the years leading up to the War, defends his Gallipoli policy, and criticises Haig's strategy. John Buchan considered these volumes "the best thing anyone has done in contemporary history since Clarendon" (Cohen). "Although parts of The World Crisis were highly autobiographical, drawing on documents from Churchill's private papers, the book as a whole was a stupendous narrative of the war in Europe featuring masterly set-piece accounts of major battles. Dictated to secretaries as he strode up and down the room, it exhibited his passionate interest in war and his romantic conception of the 'true glory' of the troops who perished on the Somme" (ODNB). The third edition of vol. I was published in November 1923, following the first and second editions, published that April. Cohen A69.2(I).f; A69.2(II).a; A69.2(III-1 & 2).a; A69.2(IV).b (second state, with errata); A69.2(V).a. 6 volumes, octavo. Original blue cloth,spines and front covers lettered in gilt. Illustrated throughout with maps and charts (many folding). Ownership signature of Scottish military artist Vereker Monteith Hamilton (1856-1931) to front free endpaper of vol. II. Lightly rubbed, Eastern Front with spine dulled and a couple of spots of wear to joints, some foxing, a couple of maps standing a little proud. A very good set.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$12882.63 + shipping
Description: First editions, first impressions, vol. I inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Inscribed for Colin McFadyean by Winston S. Churchill, Oct. 10 1945". Fluent in French and German and the son of a former ambassador to Germany, Colin McFadyean had been appointed in September 1939 by Ian Fleming to head the German section in Naval Intelligence (Fry, pp. 50-1). In 1942, he moved to Trent Park, where German generals and officers captured in the war were secretly bugged to hear their private conversations. McFadyean was tasked with interrogating U-boat prisoners; "his work with Naval Intelligence was crucial to the war at sea" (The Times obituary, 12 June 2007). Towards the end of the war Churchill read and annotated a copy of McFadyean's paper on prisoner interrogation (National Archives, ADM 223-475). The World Crisis is Churchill's mammoth history of the First World War. The work deals with his reorganization of the Royal Navy in the years leading up to the War, defends his Gallipoli policy, and criticizes Haig's strategy. "Although parts of The World Crisis were highly autobiographical, drawing on documents from Churchill's private papers, the book as a whole was a stupendous narrative of the war in Europe featuring masterly set-piece accounts of major battles. Dictated to secretaries as he strode up and down the room, it exhibited his passionate interest in war and his romantic conception of the 'true glory' of the troops who perished on the Somme" (ODNB). Cohen A69.2(I).b (second state, no priority of issue); A69.2(II).a; A69.2(III-1 & 2).a; A69.2(IV).b; A69.2(V).a. Helen Fry, The Walls Have Ears, 2019. 6 volumes, octavo. Original blue cloth, spines lettered in gilt, front covers lettered in blind. Some soiling and wear to bindings, light toning to contents and edges; vol. I with inner hinges cracked but holding, vol. II with spine dulled and ownership signature to front pastedown, vol. IV with ownership stamp to initial blank. A good set.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$25000.00 + shipping
Description: This is an extraordinary inscribed and annotated British first edition set of Churchill's history of the First World War. Each of the five books (the 1916-1918 book was issued in two volumes) is inscribed and dated by Churchill to his Aunt Clara. Clarita "Clara" Jerome Frewen (1851-1935) was the eldest sister of Churchill's mother and wife of Moreton Frewen, the famously slipshod editor of Churchill's first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force. Three inscriptions are dated pre-publication and all five are warmly personal, with Churchill using only his first name. The inscriptions alone would make the set a prize, but it is the second family association that makes the set a unique piece of history. The books passed to Clara's son and Churchill's first cousin, Captain Oswald Moreton Frewen (1887-1958). Oswald was a career naval officer who served under Churchill's leadership as First Lord of the Admiralty during both the First and Second World Wars. Oswald participated in every naval engagement in the North Sea during the First World War, after the war helped the Admiralty prepare the official history of the Battle of Jutland, and during the Second World War served as King's Harbour Master of Scapa Flow. THE ANNOTATIONS: Of note, according to the Frewen family, Oswald's own 1916 diary "is considered to be part of the United Kingdom's national archives because of his description of the Battle of Jutland," with a claim upon the volume made by the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, England. Oswald's extensive annotations in this set appear throughout the two 1916-1918 volumes and run to thousands of words. These annotations are remarkably informed and informative, sharply critical, and compellingly interesting - to both collectors and scholars. Some of Oswald's criticism may be attributed to his partisan admiration of Admiral Jellicoe, some perhaps to jealousy toward a famous cousin. Nonetheless, Oswald's comments are not without some expressed admiration for his Cousin Winston's gifts - both literary and as a leader. And tempering the sharp criticism is the knowledge that Oswald actively sought - and received - his cousin Winston's inscriptions in books that Oswald read and annotated until Oswald's death in 1958. We have transcribed the entirety of Captain Frewen's annotations, producing a 22-page document which we will provide upon request. CONDITION: This set is in sound, unrestored condition, with the original bindings firm and intact - well short of fine but of course to be prized far more for provenance and content than for condition. Five volumes are first edition, first printing. Volume I, the 1911-1914 volume, is first edition, second printing (printed only three days after publication of the first printing). The blue cloth bindings are square and tight, but show some of the scuffing endemic to the smooth navy cloth and some wear to extremities. We note the following: slight outward warping to the 1915 volume boards; some minor fraying at the head of the 1915 volume spine; minor blistering of The Aftermath cloth (to which this particular volume was prone) on the upper front cover and lower right of the spine; minor discoloration spots to The Eastern Front front cover and a wrinkle (binding error rather than blistering) in the upper rear cover cloth. Spotting is substantially confined to the page edges and first and final leaves, the heaviest instance within the set observed on the inscribed page of the 1915 volume. We note no previous ownership marks beyond the author's inscriptions and Captain Frewen's annotations. The set is housed in a navy cloth slipcase with gilt print and decoration. PROVENANCE: This set has remained in the Frewen family until now, providing both sterling provenance and a unique opportunity for collectors. Bibliographic reference: Cohen A69.2(I).d, A69.2(II).a, A69.2(III-1).a, A69.2(III-2).a, A69.2(IV).a, A69.2(V).a.; Woods/ICS A31(ab), Langworth p.105
Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.