Rare books from Churchill Book Collector

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1923. First edition. Hardcover. 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… Read More

New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1900. First U.S. edition, only printing. Hardcover. This is an inscribed U.S. first edition, only printing of Winston Churchill's fifth book, the second of two books based on his despatches sent from the front in South Africa during the Boer War. This was the final book from Churchill’s early career as an itinerant calvary officer and war correspondent. This copy was inscribed by then-twenty-six-year-old Churchill in Chicago on 10 January 1901 during Churchill's first lecture tour of North America. The signature, in black ink in four lines on the upper half-title, reads: "Winston S. Churchill | to | F. Wight Neuman Esq. | 10.1.1901". Such early signatures in first editions of Churchill's early works are quite scarce, even more so for U.S. first editions.    The U.S. first edition saw only a single printing bound in pebble grain red buckram which proved susceptible to blotchy wear and discoloration, particularly on the spine. The number sold is unclear, but seems… Read More

London: George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd., 1933. Signed and limited issue of the first edition. Full leather. This signed, limited, and finely bound publisher's presentation set of Churchill's Marlborough would be remarkable for condition alone, but this is also one of just five unnumbered sets reserved by the publisher. This is the only one of the five known to be hand-marked as "Presentation". Churchill signed just below the limitation statement "Winston S. Churchill". But this copy is also inscribed by the publisher. Just above Churchill’s signature in the space where the limitation number would normally be written, the word “Presentation” is inked. On the half title, in four lines in the publisher’s hand, is inked the inscription “To Steve | from | George | 1933.” Condition is excellent, approaching near fine. The spines are only lightly sunned, that of Volume I showing a few freckles. Light spotting appears primarily confined to the untrimmed fore edges, only occasionally and lightly… Read More

Including Chartwell, Hyde Park Gate, Hotel de la Mamounia in Marrakech, New York City, 10 Downing Street, and Villa Politi in Syracuse, Sicily, 1946 - 1962. Letter. This remarkable archive contains correspondence from Winston S. Churchill to his close friend, William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose (1879-1954) and Camrose’s sons, centered on the conception, writing, and publication of Churchill’s Second World War memoirs. Churchill’s signature appears seventeen different times in this archive, along with various salutations, valedictions, emendations, and annotations. The correspondence spans sixteen years, from 15 October 1946 to 11 October 1962, detailing multiple aspects of Churchill’s war memoirs, from concerns attending initial conception before Churchill began writing to submittal of the final words of the sixth and final volume. Among other things, Churchill’s letters in this archive illuminate Churchill’s “Private & Confidential” considerations, his exacting engagement in editing… Read More

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1929. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is a remarkable association copy of the penultimate volume of Winston S. Churchill’s history of the First World War. This jacketed first edition, first printing of The Word Crisis: The Aftermath is inscribed and dated to Arthur James Balfour, the man who replaced Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915 when Churchill was forced to resign. Churchill’s own words testify most eloquently to his association with Balfour, which both included and exceeded that of a colleague, mentor, or rival: “…this remarkable man whom I knew, and whose friendship, across the vicissitudes of politics, I enjoyed in a ripening measure during thirty years.” (Churchill, Great Contemporaries, p.240) The inscription Churchill inscribed this presentation copy of the first edition, first printing, first state of The Aftermath six days prior to publication. Using their respective initials, the tone is familiar, befitting their… Read More

London: Macmillan and Company, 1906. First edition, only printing. Hardcover. This collector’s prize is the two-volume first edition, only printing of Winston Churchill's biography of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, each volume in its original dust jacket. This first edition is aesthetically pleasing, featuring deep red cloth, untrimmed page edges, and gilt stamping, including the Churchill coat of arms in gilt on the front covers. However, the red cloth binding of this edition proved quite susceptible to fading and wear and the contents to heavy spotting. First edition sets are not especially uncommon, but collector worthy sets are elusive and entirely unfaded sets are virtually unknown without the dust jackets. The jackets are printed in dark blue on gray-blue laid paper. The front faces feature only the printed title, the rear faces advertise a list of “Macmillan & Co.’s New Books”, and the spines feature title, author (with “Spencer” spelled out), and volume number above the price… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1930. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is a rare and compelling convergence of edition, condition, popularity, and provenance. This U.S. first edition, first printing of Winston S. Churchill’s 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 Scribner’s “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… Read More

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1909. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This first edition, first printing of Churchill's third book of speeches (following Mr. Brodrick's Army and For Free Trade) is the best surviving copy, retaining the most complete known example of the extravagantly rare original dust jacket. Liberalism and the Social Problem dates from Churchill's period as an ardent reformer and a dynamic young political force in the Liberal Party – three decades before he became the vaunted leader of Britain’s Conservative Party. This first edition was bound in a deep red cloth stamped in gilt on the spine and featuring Churchill's gilt-stamped facsimile signature on the front cover. The illustrated dust jacket is a striking period piece, the front face printed gray on thin, white stock with the front face featuring a fuller version of the same photo of Churchill that would appear on the front cover of the wraps edition of The People's Rights published a year later. This is an iconic… Read More

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1923 - 1931. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is a magnificent, jacketed, six-volume British first edition, first printing set of Winston Churchill’s history of the First World War, in which he played such a critical, controversial, and varied role. Many consider this British edition of The World Crisis aesthetically superior to its American counterpart, with its larger volumes and shoulder notes summarizing the subject of each page. Unfortunately, the smooth navy cloth of the British first editions proved quite susceptible to wear and blistering, and the contents prone to spotting and toning. When the books are protected by their original dust jackets, of course they tend to fare better, but that is seldom the case; when these volumes were published, between 1923 and 1931, booksellers often discarded the dust jackets. Even those spared by booksellers often did not survive. Full sets thus, in dust jackets, are an elusive prize. But this… Read More

London: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1900. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. On 12 August 1900, during his first successful campaign for Parliament, Winston Churchill inscribed and dated this remarkable presentation copy of the first edition, first printing to the recipient. It was a highly relevant gift. First, the book – Churchill’s fourth – recounts the daring, dramatic escape that made Churchill a war hero and propelled his first election victory a month and a half after he inscribed this copy. Second, it was gifted in thanks for the recipient’s help on a Sunday with the young candidate’s overwhelming accumulation of correspondence. This inscribed presentation copy is accompanied by a typed, signed presentation letter from Churchill specifically explaining the gift of this book. Signed, first edition copies of Churchill’s early works are quite scarce. A copy thus – inscribed, dated, contemporary, to a known recipient, and with definitive provenance – is a compellingly rare prize.… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1923 - 1931. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is a full, first edition, first printing, jacketed set of Winston Churchill’s history of the First World War. Notably, this set includes the extravagantly rare first printing 1911-1914 dust jacket. This is unequivocally the best full set in first printing dust jackets of which we are aware. Consider it a virtual certainty that no better set exists. A quarter of a century before the Second World War endowed him with lasting fame, Churchill played a uniquely critical, controversial, and varied role in the “War to end all wars”. Then, being Churchill, he wrote about it. The World Crisis was originally published in six volumes between 1923 and 1931, the first four volumes spanning the war years 1911-1918 and the final two volumes covering the postwar years 1918-1928 (The Aftermath) and the Eastern theatre (The Eastern Front). This U.S. edition preceded its British counterpart, rendering it the true first… Read More

London: Cassell and Company Ltd., 1941-1946. First edition, first printings. Hardcover. This full, seven-volume set of British first edition, first printings of Winston Churchill’s Second World War speeches offers a vanishingly rare trifecta of virtues. First, the set as a whole is unequivocally the finest we have ever encountered. Second, the presentation volume therein – the seventh and final volume – is equally fine, magnificently well-preserved. Third, the presentation volume is not only signed by Churchill, but inscribed, dated, and accompanied by and signed presentation letter from Churchill, providing definitive and compelling provenance. The presentation inscription, letter, envelopes, and cards Secret Session Speeches is inscribed by Churchill in five lines on the half title: “To | Denny C. Stokes | from | Winston S. Churchill | Christmas 1947”. An accompanying typed letter signed by Churchill on his Hyde Park Gate stationery is dated “December 8, 1947” and reads: “Dear Mr. Stokes,… Read More

London and various: Macmillan & Co. Ltd. and various other agencies, entities, and individuals, 1941-1979. This remarkable archive belonged to Charles Barker and centers on his service as Chief Clerk to British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill from 1940-1945, throughout Churchill's Second World War premiership. At the heart of the archive is a magnificent presentation copy of Churchill’s history of the First World War, a wartime edition presented to Barker as a gift for Christmas, 1942, featuring not only Churchill’s dated inscription, but also a typed and dated 10 Downing Street presentation slip. This item is but one of more than 70 individual items in the archive, ranging from books to correspondence and envelopes to photographs, to various mementos, including noteworthy invitations, tickets, and passes. Each of these items is interesting. Many are treasures in their own right. Provenance This archive came from the collection of British army veteran and noted Churchillian Major Alan… Read More

Saki, Crimea, U.S.S.R.: Privately compiled, 1945. Album. This singular and compelling Second World War album was painstakingly compiled, decorated, and annotated by Royal Air Force Group Captain Walter J. Pickard. Full of mementos, documents, and photographs, the album chronicles the staging, preparation, and flights which conveyed Winston Churchill, as well as other British and American delegates, to the Yalta Conference in 1945, earning Pickard the accolades of his commanders, the appreciation of his Prime Minister, and the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.). Not least among the album’s contents is the dated inscription of Winston S. Churchill and signed correspondence from Churchill’s private secretary confirming that Churchill personally received, examined, and inscribed this album, and conveying Churchill’s appreciation to Pickard. The album is 100 numbered pages, bound in leather-covered boards with a hand-labeled title “Saki” affixed diagonally on the front cover. “Saki” refers to… Read More

Colonial Office, Downing Street, London, 17 July 1922. Letter. This is Winston Churchill’s 17 July 1922 autograph signed letter to T. E. Lawrence accepting Lawrence’s resignation from the Colonial Office, accompanied by the original, franked envelope addressed and initialed in Churchill’s hand. This letter underscores the friendship and collaboration of two titanic twentieth century personalities and their shared work in securing post-First World War peace and political stability in the Middle East. From early 1921 to mid-1922, T. E. Lawrence “of Arabia” worked for then-Secretary of State for the Colonies Winston S. Churchill. Churchill had asked a reticent Lawrence to commit for a year. He gave Churchill more than he had promised, both in time and in achieved outcomes. Then, in July 1922, Churchill reluctantly released Lawrence from service. The autograph letter signed by Churchill fills the entire 8 x 10 inch (20.3 x 25.4 cm) front panel of a single, folded sheet of Churchill’s “Colonial… Read More