Description: The World Crisis: 1916-1918 Part I Winston S. Churchill London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1927 First British edition, third printing, in dust jacket Condition: Very Good plusJacket Condition: Very Good Normal 0 false false false EN-CA JA X-NONE This is the British first edition, third printing, of the third volume of Winston Churchill's monumental history of The First World War, elusive thus in the original dust jacket. A quarter of a century before the Second World War endowed him with lasting fame, Winston 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, with 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). The events of the 1916-1918 volumes, of which this is the first, include Churchill's time at the Front, his return to the Cabinet, and Armistice Day, marking the formal end of hostilities. This third printing was issued March 1927, the same month as the first and second printings. The dust jacket is nearly identical to that of the first printing, differing only in replacement of the six-line blurb at the center of each front face with five lines of review quotes from Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph. The volume is bound in navy cloth identical to that of the first printing, though the volumes use thinner sheets than the first printing, making the volume narrower. Content is virtually identical, differing from the first printing only in removal of the erratum slip, correction of a footnote, and notation of the second and third printings on the copyright page. Condition of this copy is very good plus in a very good dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is beautifully square, clean, bright and tight with sharp corners, vivid spine gilt, and no appreciable wear. The contents remain crisp and feel unread. Differential toning to the endpapers corresponds to the dust jacket flaps, confirming that this copy has spent life jacketed. Only spotting – heavy to the page edges and within primarily confined to the first and final leaves with occasional intrusions into the blank inner margins – prevents our grading this copy as “fine”. The sole previous ownership mark is the tiny sticker of a Lewes bookseller affixed to the lower front pastedown. This third printing dust jacket is quite clean, with only light soiling and spine toning. A strip loss at the spine head to a maximum depth of .6 inch (1.5 cm) is the only appreciable loss, with only fractional chipping at the spine heel and corners. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover. In October 1911, aged 36, Winston Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. He entered the post with the brief to change war strategy and ensure the readiness of the world’s most powerful navy. He did both. Nonetheless, when Churchill advocated successfully for a naval campaign in the Dardanelles that ultimately proved disastrous, a convergence of factors sealed his political fate. Churchill was scapegoated and forced to resign, leaving the Admiralty in May 1915. Years later, Churchill’s wife, Clementine, recalled to Churchill’s official biographer “I thought he would never get over the Dardanelles; I thought he would die of grief.” (Gilbert, Vol. III, p.473) By November, Churchill resigned even his nominal Cabinet posts to spend the rest of his political exile as a lieutenant colonel leading a battalion in the trenches at the Front. Before war's end, Churchill was exonerated by the Dardanelles Commission and rejoined the Government, foreshadowing the political isolation and restoration he would experience two decades later leading up to the Second World War. Despite Churchill's political recovery, the stigma of the Dardanelles lingered. Hence Churchill had more than just literary and financial compulsion to write his history. References: Cohen A69.2(III-1).c, Woods/ICS A31(ab), Langworth p.105. Ref #: 007588 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: 2024-10-30T02:21:37.000Z
Shipping Cost: 15 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Hardcover
Place of Publication: London
Special Attributes: Dust Jacket
Author: Winston S. Churchill
Publisher: Thornton Butterworth Limited
Year Printed: 1927