Churchill
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Chartwell Edition
Winston S. Churchill
London: The Educational Book Company, Ltd., 1956. Chartwell (First Illustrated) Edition. Hardcover.
First Edition
First Editions all Four Volumes
This is a full, four-volume set of the first illustrated edition, which was published contemporaneously with the first edition and is known as "The Chartwell Edition." This is a particularly handsome edition of Churchills sweeping history and last great work. This edition is not only profusely illustrated, but is also attractively bound in heavy blue buckram with red leather spine labels blocked in gilt, gilt ruled spine compartments, gilt volume title and vertical rule on each front cover, head and foot bands, and blue topstain.
This set is in good plus condition. The bindings are square and tight and the red leather spine labels are fully intact. Nonetheless wear and tear we have priced it at a very good discount.
London: The Educational Book Company Ltd,, 1956-58. The Chartwell Edition, the first illustrated edition of Churchill's grand history of Britain, the British Empire, and the United States, the second overall. Churchill began his history during his period in the political wilderness in the early 1930s but did not complete it until the latter 1950s, after his final retirement as prime minister. The events of the Second World War, the major interruption in the writing process, had reconfirmed his belief in the "special relationship", the shared heritage and destiny of Britain and the United States. Consequently he gave considerable attention to the key events of American history, especially the War of Independence and the Civil War. The work met with acclaim and proved an international best-seller, further vindicating Churchill's receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. A masterpiece of readable, popular history, it remains in print today. 4 volumes, large octavo. Original blue cloth, gilt-panelled spines with red sheep labels lettered in gilt, front covers lettered and ruled in gilt, top edges blue, blue and white endbands. Prolifically illustrated with plates, diagrams, and tables. Title pages ruled in red.
