Books and Manuscripts

(London): Library of Imperial History, (1973-76). In 39 volumes. Centenary Limited Edition. 8vo. Profusely illustrated with plates and maps. Full vellum, stamped in gilt, Churchill coat of arms stamped in gilt on front board of each volume; all edges gilt; green marbled endpapers; each volume in dark green leatherette slip case, stamped in gilt with Churchill coat of arms, many damaged from when stored. Set includes a rare Subscriber's (uncorrected) Proof Copy of the first volume (meant to be returned to the publisher), with publisher's label mounted to front free endpaper, and their large green ink stamp on half-title, both stating same. Langworth, pp. 362-369

Lot includes a large group of printed ephemera from the publisher, including 33 printed book-plates for Vols. II-XXXIV, as well four book-plates for the four volumes of The Collected Essays, loose as mailed; original printed prospectus booklet for The Collected Essays; one typed letter from The Winston Churchill Foundation confirming original owner's subscription, dated December 3, 1973; nine typed letters from The Library of Imperial History regarding the subscription of this set, dated December, 1973-September, 1975; five pieces of publisher's ephemera, including Preliminary Notes, Conditions of Sale, Notes on Care and Preservation, etc.; six other pieces of ephemera, including Centenary stamps and postcards.

The first complete collection of Winston Churchill's works, comprising 50 books in 34 volumes, plus four volumes of his collected essays, and one publisher's proof copy of the first volume. "Five million words, in 19,000 pages, weighing 90lbs, taking up 4 1/2 ft of shelf space. To achieve publication, 11 publishing houses in Great Britain, the United States and Canada released their individual copyrights, in exchange for the promise that no other complete collection of Churchill's works would be published until the expiration of international copyright in 2019." (Richard M. Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, p. 362). Although, according to Langworth, the publisher intended for 3,000 copies to be printed, the set's high price limited its sale, and when the publisher eventually declared bankruptcy in the late 1970s, only 2,000 sets of sheets were printed, of which only 1,750 copies were bound and presumably sold. In one of the publisher's letters included with this lot they note that this set is #2031.