ORIGINAL PROGRAM FROM THE 1922 ST. DAVID'S DAY IN LONDON DINNER, SIGNED BY THAT YEAR'S GUEST OF HONOR, WINSTON CHURCHILL

CHURCHILL, Winston. Welsh program signed. London: (Brampton Press), 1922. Small, thin octavo, original self-wrappers, pp. 4. $2200.

Original program from the 1922 St. David's Day in London annual celebration dinner, signed on the title page by that year's guest of honor, Winston Churchill. Text in Welsh.

This program, printed entirely in Welsh, commemorates the annual St. David's Day in London dinner. St. David's Day, the celebration of the patron saint of Wales, has been a national holiday in Wales for centuries. While its celebration once sparked counter-celebrations in London that included lynchings in effigy, St. David's Day slowly grew into a nationwide holiday with its celebration in London by figures such as Churchill symbolizing the unity of the kingdom. At this 1922 St. David's Day Dinner, Philip Williams was the Chairman, while Churchill, who has signed the program, was the Guest of Honor. At the time, Churchill was a Member of Parliament representing Dundee as well as Secretary of State for the Colonies. Interestingly, Churchill has long been reviled in the south of Wales for his response to the Tonypandy riots, in which he sent the British Army to reinforce police action in a violent miner's strike. His selection as a guest of honor must have been controversial only a decade later, with the mining cartels he had supported still causing great hardships in the daily lives of Welsh miners.

Pinpoint foxing mainly to interior. Near-fine condition.