Description: The Postwar Speeches, a full set of jacketed first editions: The Sinews of Peace, Europe Unite, In the Balance, Stemming the Tide, and The Unwritten Alliance Winston S. Churchill London: Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1948-1961 British first editions, in dust jackets Condition: FineJacket Condition: Near Fine plus or better Here is a jacketed set of all five of Churchill's post-WWII speech volumes, increasingly challenging to assemble thus. This set is unequivocally the best we have ever encountered, and virtually unobtainable thus. All five volumes in this set are in truly fine condition, their jackets near fine plus or better. All five cloth bindings are strikingly clean, tight, and square with sharp corners, bright spine gilt, and virtually no wear. The contents of all five volumes are uniformly bright and as clean as the come. We find no spotting. We find no previous ownership marks. Even the page edges are impressively clean, with only light dust soiling to the top edges of The Sinews of Peace and a hint of age-toning to the otherwise immaculate Stemming the Tide and The Unwritten Alliance page edges. The dust jackets are remarkably impressive. All five jackets are unclipped, retaining the original front flap prices. All five jackets are entirely unfaded, with exceptional color and shelf presentation. Trivial shelf wear is confined to extremities and perhaps no worse than might be encountered if these books were brand new and just shelved in a local bookstore. Stemming the Tide has the more desirable and elusive first state dust jacket. The only flaw of note is a bit of spotting to the white flap fold corners of In the Balance and Stemming the Tide. All five dust jackets are fitted with clear, removable, archival covers. These volumes span the period from Demobilization in late 1945, when Churchill was Leader of the Opposition, through his second Premiership (1951-1955) into a time when Churchill passes "into a living national memorial" of the time he has lived and the Nation, Empire, and free world he has served. The events encompassed by these years are in many ways no less dramatic than those of the war years - the unraveling of the British Empire, the post-war recovery, the onset of the Cold War, Soviet acquisition of the atomic bomb, development of the hydrogen bomb, and the beginning of the space age (to name a few). These postwar speech volumes are scarcer than Churchill’s War Speeches volumes; all five of these books had only a single printing each. Moreover, not all of the fourth volume’s sheets were issued in a dust jacket matching the rest of the volumes; the later issue dust jacket is solid black with no matching oak leaf border at the top and bottom edges. Also of note, the fifth and final volume, The Unwritten Alliance, is the last of Churchill's books published in his lifetime and was issued only in Britain, with no U.S. edition. Reference: Cohen A241.1, A246.1, A255.1, A264.1, A273; Woods/ICS A124(a), A128(a), A130(a), A137(a), A142; Langworth pages 184, 296, 301, 309, 338 Ref #: 007245 CHURCHILL BOOK COLLECTOR We are Churchill Book Collector, a professional bookseller specializing in books and other published works by and about the great twentieth century statesman and acclaimed writer, Sir Winston Churchill. We offer both a singular inventory and approachable expertise. The integrity of our inventory is backed by our membership in the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), and the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA). Churchill's official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, rightly called Churchill's long life "remarkable and versatile". Statesman, soldier, war correspondent, ardent social reformer, combative cold warrior, painter - Churchill was many things, but perhaps above all a master wordsmith. We’re here to help Churchill’s words find your shelves. Our extensive inventory features some of the rarest material offered – including fine first editions and inscribed copies – as well as reading copies and works about Churchill’s life and time. While we specialize in Churchill, our inventory also includes noteworthy first and collectible editions by other authors, ranging from Xenophon to T. E. Lawrence, spanning exploration and empire to twentieth century fiction. We are able to help with anything from finding individual books to assembling full collections, working closely with individual collectors to identify and accommodate their preferences and budget. We are also able to commission preservation cases and fine bindings. Please contact us if you have books to sell. We buy, and in some cases consign, fine and collectible individual items, as well as whole collections.
Price: 3750 USD
Location: San Diego, California
End Time: 2024-02-06T04:52:26.000Z
Shipping Cost: 25 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Hardcover
Place of Publication: London
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Dust Jacket
Author: Winston S. Churchill
Publisher: Cassell and Company, Ltd.
Year Printed: 1948