Winston S. Churchill, His Complete Speeches 1897-1963, a full set of eight volumes
New York: Chelsea House Publishers in association with R. R. Bowker Company, 1974. First edition. Hardcover. The eight-volume set Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches was the first and only publication purporting to capture all of Churchill’s speeches in a single, truly massive effort. As published, the eight-volume set contained the vast majority of Churchill's speeches from 1897 to 1963. The set is nearly 9,000 pages in length, takes up 18 inches of shelf space, and weighs 34 pounds.
We simply do not find sets in fine condition. The sheer size of the volumes imposes stress on the bindings, both in handling them and merely when they sit on a shelf, the red cloth proved prone to wear and fading, and the vast expanse of page edges is a magnet for dust and soiling. Moreover, a great many of these impressive sets ended up in libraries, and consequently bear internal and external ex-library wear and markings.
This set is in very good plus overall condition, unusual thus. This set has always been privately owned, and not only are there no library markings, but there are no previous ownership marks whatsoever. All eight bindings remain square and tight with sharp corners. The bindings show minor scuffs and blemishes and a touch of shelf wear to extremities, including wrinkled spine ends. Nonetheless, they are bright and unfaded, with superior shelf presentation. The contents are clean and retain a crisp feel. Light spotting appears confined to the otherwise bright page edges and the Volume I half-title, frontispiece, and title page. There is also a small stain to the top edges of Volume V. Withal, an atypically clean and tight set with compelling shelf presentation.
Please note that this large, heavy set, which we will pack with care, may require substantial postage depending upon destination and preferred delivery method.
During more than half a century of public life Sir Winston Churchill delivered speeches whose incisive wit, artful cadence, stinging criticism, soaring sentiment, and resolute defiance still echo. When Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953, it was partly "...for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Before this incredible undertaking, many of Churchill's speeches had never been published in volume form. The Editor, Sir Robert Rhodes James (1933-1999) was a British biographer, historian, and politician. Like Churchill, he served as a Conservative Member of Parliament. In the words of the Editor “The project was the brainchild of a remarkable, and very eccentric, New York publisher called Harold Steinberg; it was Arthur Schlesinger’s idea that I should undertake it.” (Letter of 24 November 1995 to Churchill’s Bibliographer, Ronald I. Cohen). In this “truly formidable project” Rhodes James was aided by nine “eager and assiduous” young researchers. Not surprisingly given the magnitude of the project - and despite the ambitious titular designation “His Complete Speeches” - a (very) few speeches escaped inclusion. Nonetheless, this has been rightly called “an extraordinarily thorough and dependable resource”.
Reference: Cohen A284.1, Woods/ICS A145(a), Langworth p.349. Item #007249
Price: $2,000.00