Arms and the Covenant in the striking wartime dust jacket Housed in a full navy Morocco goat skin Solander case

Winston S. Churchill

Edité par George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd., London, 1938

This is the precursor to Churchill's great war speeches, the British first edition in the striking yellow dust jacket issued just after Churchill became Prime Minister. The book contains a collection of speeches spanning the years 1928 to 1938 criticizing British foreign policy, Churchill s warnings and exhortations both prophetic and largely unheeded. 5,000 copies of this first and only British impression were printed, of which at least 3,381 and perhaps more than 4,000 were sold with the pale blue, first state dust jacket. The balance - no more than 1,619 copies and quite likely fewer - were offered at a lower price in June 1940 featuring a yellow dust jacket. Because the price was reduced with the yellow dust jacket, this has often been called by bibliographers the "Cheap" issue. Given that Churchill had just become Prime Minister in May 1940, it might be more fittingly called the "I Told You So" issue. The yellow dust jackets were issued on laid paper printed red on the front face and spine with a blank rear face and rear flap. Given the inherent sensitivities of the yellow paper and red print, the paper is quite susceptible to soiling, typically suffers losses to extremities, and the red spine lettering is nearly always quite faded. Today these yellow, wartime dust jackets are quite scarce, considerably more so than their pale blue first issue counterparts.While not fine, this is the best overall copy we have encountered. Most notable, the yellow dust jacket is entirely complete retaining the original lower front flap price and with no loss. Moreover, while the red spine print suffers some sunning, it remains distinct and clearly legible, rendering shelf presentation quite impressive. The completeness of the jacket and legibility of the red spine print more than compensates for the overall soiling. Trivial wear is confined to extremities. The jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover. The volume beneath is very good plus. The binding is compellingly fresh square, clean, bright, and tight with sharp corners, vivid spine gilt, and no appreciable wear or blemishes. The contents are less impressive than the binding but still quite good clean with a crisp, unread feel despite some mild age-toning. Differential toning to the endpapers corresponding to the dust jacket flaps confirms what the lovely binding already testifies that this copy has spent life jacketed. We find no previous ownership marks. Light spotting appears confined to the first and final leaves. A rectangle of differential toning to the title page indicates that a news clipping or something similar now lost was long laid in. The blue topstain is uniformly dulled.The book is housed in a full navy Morocco goatskin Solander with round spine and silver print. Condition of the Solander is fine, with no wear, soiling, or fading.The world remembers the resolute war leader to whom the British turned, but it is easy to overlook Churchill s "wilderness years" of the 1930s, which Churchill spent out of power and out of favor, persistently warning about the growing Nazi threat and routinely at odds with both his own Conservative Party leadership and prevailing public sentiment. The Churchill speeches herein have been called "…the permanent record of one man s unceasing struggle in the face of resentment, apathy, and complacency" and "probably the most crucial volume of speeches that he ever published". The speeches were compiled by Churchill's son, Randolph, who contributed a preface and is credited with compilation. Randolph would do the same for his father's first volume of war speeches, Into Battle, published in an almost unrecognizable world less than three years later. The esoteric title Arms and the Covenant references the failed Covenant of the post-WWI League of Nations. It is instructive and apropos that the U.S. edition was given a more candid title While England Slept. Reference: Cohen A107.3, Woods/ICS A44(a), Langworth p.192. N° de réf. du vendeur 007234

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Arms and the Covenant in the striking ...
Éditeur : George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd., London
Date d'édition : 1938
Reliure : Hardcover
Etat de la jaquette : Jaquette
Edition : First edition, only printing.