Description: A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Winston S. Churchill Taipei: Book World Company, undated Condition: Very GoodJacket Condition: Very Good A History of the English-Speaking Peoples is Churchill's sweeping history and last great work. The first draft was completed just before the Second World War, but the work was not completed and published until after Churchill's second and final Premiership, nearly 20 years later. The four volumes of the British first edition were published between 1956 and 1958. In 1964, a Taiwanese pirated one-volume edition was published. Around that time, an undated four-volume pirated edition was also published, photo-reproduced from the Cassell first edition. This four-volume Taiwanese pirated edition was undated, but offprinted from the British first edition. The only indication of publication is type at the bottom of the rear face of each dust jacket reading in three lines: "The above volumes are supplied by / BOOK WORLD COMPANY / 15 Hung Yang Road Taipei". This pirated edition is smaller in stature than the British first edition and printed on thinner paper. The volumes measure 9 x 6 inches and are bound in brown cloth with silver title and volume number stamped on the spines and front covers. The volumes feature head and foot bands and a brown cloth page marker. The dust jackets are both striking and markedly different than those of the British first edition, printed purplish-gray, red, and black with a rose on each lower spine and a crown set within a concentric geometric pattern on each lower front face. This set of four is very good in very good dust jackets. All four brown cloth bindings are square, clean, and tight with sharp corners and bright silver print. The contents remain clean with no previous owner marks. Age-toning and light spotting appear confined to the page edges. The dust jackets are clean and unfaded with shallow chip losses confined to the extremities. Shelf presentation is quite respectable. The dust jackets are protected beneath clear, removable, archival covers. Churchill's four volume epic, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, traces a great historical arc from Roman Britain through the end of the Nineteenth Century, ending with the death of Queen Victoria. Perhaps not coincidentally, this is the very year that saw Churchill conclude his first North American lecture tour, take his first seat in Parliament, and begin to make history himself. The work itself was two decades in the making. The Churchillian conceptions that underpinned it were lifelong. The cultural commonality and vitality of English-speaking peoples animated Churchill throughout his life, from his Victorian youth in an ascendant British Empire to his twilight in the midst of the American century. Churchill began A History of the English-Speaking Peoples in the 1930s, completing a draft of "about half a million words" which was set aside when Churchill returned to the Admiralty and to war in September 1939. The work was fittingly interrupted by an unprecedented alliance among the English-speaking peoples during the Second World War - an alliance Churchill personally did much to cultivate, cement, and sustain. The interruption continued as Churchill bent his literary efforts to his six-volume history, The Second World War, and then his remaining political energies to his second and final premiership from 1951-1955. Reference: Cohen A267.10, Langworth p.327 Ref #: 007547 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: 300 USD
Location: San Diego, California
End Time: 2024-04-27T14:05:35.000Z
Shipping Cost: 20 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Hardcover
Place of Publication: Taipei
Special Attributes: Dust Jacket
Author: Winston S. Churchill
Publisher: Book World Company
Topic: Sets
Subject: History