– 14 – N e w A c q u i s i t i o n s Scarce Complete 12-Volume Collection Of First Editions Of Churchill’s WWII And PostWar Speeches, 1941-61, Handsomely Bound 15. CHURCHILL, Winston S. Collection of World War II and post-war speeches. London, 1941-61. Together, 12 volumes. Octavo, modern full three-quarter navy morocco gilt. $9500. First editions of Churchill’s separately published World War II and post-war speeches, including his rare last book, handsomely bound. Churchill’s war speeches, published between 1941 and 1946, “constitute a contemporary history of the war which is as lively as it is authoritative; and, so far as contemporary history is of value, they may be said to be the last word upon the war” (Randolph S. Churchill). The bulk of Churchill’s speeches between late 1945, when he was voted out of the office of Prime Minister and became the leader of the opposition party in Parliament, through his second premiership of 1951-1955, up to 1959, when he gave his last public speech, make up the post-war speeches. Toward the end of the Second World War and after, Churchill increasingly advocated that Europe enter the approaching Cold War era as a united and resolute voice. The speeches included in these volumes trace the development of Churchill’s call for European unity through the abatement of socialist party power in Britain’s parliament, the start of the Korean War, rising tensions in the Middle East, and the establishment of NATO. This set contains the rare first and only printing of The Unwritten Alliance, the last of Churchill’s books printed in his lifetime. Fine condition. “This Is Not History: This Is My Case”: Churchill’s Brilliant History Of The Second World War 14. CHURCHILL, Winston. The SecondWorldWar. London, 1948-54. Six volumes. Octavo, modern three-quarter navy morocco gilt. $3500. First English editions of Churchill’s WWII masterpiece, handsomely bound. “The Second World War is a great work of literature, combining narrative, historical imagination and moral precept in a form that bears comparison with that of the original master chronicler, Thucydides. It was wholly appropriate that in 1953 Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature” (Keegan, 175). Although preceded by the American editions, the English editions are generally preferred for their profusion of diagrams, maps and facsimile documents. Faint marginal foxing in Volume VI. Fine condition, a handsome set.
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