Description
This is an original vintage print (6 1/2 x 8 inches), uncaptioned and undated. It is a candid shot of Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin during the Teheran Conference, seated, apparently listening to a toast being given at a birthday dinner for Churchill’s 69th Birthday on 30 November 1943. The photograph has been signed in ink: “Winston S. Churchill,” across the lower midsection of the table in the image. The photograph is creased, with a repaired short tear at the right edge, through Stalin’s arm. The signature, originally in blue ink, has faded to green, but is entirely legible. Verso is multiply stamped by different news agencies, but stamps have faded. There are numerous notations in blue and black pencil, and in red pencil the handwritten words: “Conference Teheran.”
The Teheran Conference commenced at the Soviet Embassy in Teheran on 28 November 1943 and lasted through 1 December. Churchill’s birthday dinner, held at the British Embassy, was a jovial affair, filled with so many toasts that Churchill at one point remarked to Stalin, “England is getting pinker.” “It is a sign of good health,” Stalin retorted. “I drink to the Proletarian masses,” continued Churchill. “I drink to the Conservative Party,” replied Stalin.
The photograph is museum matted and handsomely framed (15 x 18 inches overall).
