A collection of 27 informal photographs of Sir Winston S. Churchill taken in September 1958 and June 1960 on the grounds or in the vicinity of La Capponcina, the villa of Churchill's great friend Lord Beaverbrook at Cap d'Ail in the South of France
La Capponcina, Cap d'Ail: 1958. Photograph. This is a collection of 27 original photographs of Sir Winston Churchill from September 1958 and June 1960, all of them informal, featuring him variously relaxing, smoking cigars, reading, painting, or aboard a yacht. All of the images were captured on the grounds or on the water in the vicinity of La Capponcina at Cap d’Ail in the South of France, across the bay from Monte Carlo. La Capponcina was the villa of Churchill’s great friend Lord Beaverbrook, William Maxwell Aitken (1879-1964).
The images were captured by Beaverbrook’s personal assistant. 23 of the images are black in white and 4 in color. 9 of the images, including all 4 color images, also feature Lord Beaverbrook. 14 of the images feature printed dates on the margins of either “SEP . 58” or “JUN . 60”. The images range in size from 3 x 3 inches (7.6 x 7.6 cm) to 7 x 9.5 inches (17.8 x 24.1 cm). All 27 photographs are in superior condition, clear and clean with no appreciable scuffing or soiling.
Together, the images are a compelling portrait of the twilight of Churchill’s life and of one the great friendships of that life.
Churchill met Beaverbrook in 1911. Their association proved lifelong, close, sometimes frictional, and both personal and professional. A dynamic young Canadian millionaire, Beaverbrook moved to England in 1910. Already a Member of Parliament in 1911, Beaverbrook quickly became both a force in Tory politics and a newspaper mogul. During and between two World Wars Churchill was supported by Beaverbrook, beset by him, employed by him, served in the Government with him, or some combination of the above. Their friendship lasted more than 50 years until Beaverbrook's death, less than a year before Churchill's own.
Beaverbrook was one of the three close Churchill friends dubbed with some disapproval by Churchill's wife the "three Bs" - including Bracken and Birkenhead. Like Churchill, Beaverbrook was intelligent, opinionated, energetic, ambitious, and polarizing. A formidable friend, he defended Churchill after the WWI Dardanelles disaster. But during the 1930s Beaverbrook shared "the almost unanimous conviction of England's ruling classes that Winston exaggerates the Nazi menace". Beaverbrook opposed and belittled Churchill to the point of cruelty, calling his friend a "busted flush" and mocking his exclusion from Tory leadership. Churchill wrote a widely syndicated biweekly column for Beaverbrook's Evening Standard. But at the same time, Beaverbrook's famous cartoonist - Low - savaged Churchill. Beaverbrook fired Churchill after Munich for stridently opposing appeasement – both a financial blow and a lost rostrum. Beaverbrook then published news of Churchill's financial distress.
Nonetheless, when Churchill returned to the Admiralty, he advocated to bring Beaverbrook into the Government. When Churchill became Prime Minister, Beaverbrook became Minister of Aircraft Production – despite the King's explicit reservations – and later Minister of Supply and Minister for Production. Beaverbrook accompanied WSC on wartime visits to Roosevelt and led a British delegation to the Soviet Union, but resigned in 1942, precipitated by dissatisfaction with reconstruction of the Government. Churchill wrote to him: "We have lived & fought side by side through terrible days, & I am sure our comradeship & public work will undergo no break." and concluded "I am always yr affectionate friend." Beaverbrook continued to encourage and defend Churchill throughout the war and beyond. When Beaverbrook died (just half a year before Winston), Churchill's secretary wrote privately "Sir Winston was deeply and obviously moved at Lord Beaverbrook's death, and in the last years no-one had been closer to him."
A number of the photographs in this collection date from Churchill’s sojourn as Beaverbrook’s guest at La Capponcina in the late summer and early fall of 1958. In his September 1958 letter thanking Beaverbrook for hosting him at La Capponcina, Churchill wrote “I am very glad that you liked my companionship. It has now become very feeble, though none the less warm.” Commenting on their friendship, Churchill wrote of the realization “that the ties we formed so many years ago and strengthened in the days of war have lasted out our lifetime.” (Gilbert & Arnn, The Churchill Documents, Vol. 23, p.2221). Item #006573
Price: $1,200.00