THE WAR SPEECHES
-Mixed First American Edition Set in Dust Jackets-
1941-1946
First American (+ one First Canadian) Edition Set
G.P. Putnam Sons/Little, Brown and Co./McClelland & Stewart/Simon and Schuster [NY]
Biblio: (Cohen A142.3.a, A172.2.a, A183.2.a, A194.2.a, A214.2.a, A223.2.a, A227.2.a) (Woods A66- A114)
8vo
Hardcover (with Dust Jackets) [Cloth]
Item Number: 202077
$1,650.00
Collector's Guide
The War Speeches of Winston Churchill were first preserved in seven individual speech compilation volumes, collected and published yearly in the U.K. and in the U.S., beginning in 1941, under the following titles: Into Battle (1938-1940 speeches; published in the U.S. as Blood, Sweat and Tears), The Unrelenting Struggle (1940-1941), The End of the Beginning (1942), Onwards to Victory (1943), The Dawn of Liberation (1944), Victory (1945), and Secret Session Speeches (Various Dates). Unlike the English editions, which were all published by one publisher (Cassell), the American series was initiated by G.P. Putnam with Blood, Sweat and Tears, then carried on by Little, Brown, up till the final volume, Secret Session Speeches, which was published by Simon and Schuster.
Description
This is a complete set of First American editions with one First Canadian edition (VICTORY), all in their extremely handsome dust jackets, all in very good condition, exhibiting varying degrees of wear. Volume One, BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS, was published by Putnam in the U.S. Volume Seven, SECRET SESSION SPEECHES, was published by Simon & Schuster. Volume Six, VICTORY, was published in Canada by McClelland & Stewart. The dust jacket is, however, identical to the First American edition.
The dust jacket for BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS is unclipped but age-darkened and stained with age, particularly along the spine. The book is virtually mint; the cloth fresh, the gilt lettering bright, the binding crisp and the contents fine, save for some faint toning to the prelims.
The UNRELENTING STRUGGLE jacket is price-clipped and lightly shelfworn, with faint rubs, chips, closed tears and a triangular inch of loss at the spine head. The book is square and tightly bound, the cloth is nominally sun-faded. The contents are fine, with a small vintage holiday sticker on the rear free endpaper.
THE END OF THE BEGINNING jacket is price-clipped but bright and fresh with little shelf-wear. The book is virtually mint.
ONWARDS TO VICTORY jacket is unclipped, sunfaded along the spine with fractional edge-chipping at the head, otherwise fresh and bright on the front and rear faces,with a closed tear on the front. The book is fine, with a brief ink gift inscription dated “1944” on the front free endpaper and a tiny vintage bookshop sticker on the front pastedown.
THE DAWN OF LIBERATION jacket is unclipped, fresh and bright, with fractional loss at the spine head and single chips on the front face and the spine that have been filled out with red ink. The book is virtually mint.
VICTORY is the FIrst Canadian edition. The dust jacket is unclipped but edge-chipped and shelfworn, with rubs on the front face and fractional losses at the spine head and the front upper corner. The book is bright and the contents fine.
SECRET SESSION SPEECHES jacket is un-clipped and virtually mint, as is the book itself.