A Speech by The Prime Minister The Right Honourable Winston Churchill in the House of Commons August 20th, 1940.

CHURCHILL, Winston S. [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis].

$8,800.00

Item Number: 135114

London: His Majesty's Stationary Office, The Baynard Press, 1940.

First edition of one of Winston Churchill’s most famous speeches. Octavo, original wrappers. From the library of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis with the bookplate from the Sotheby’s 23 – 26 April 1996 sale of the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to the verso of the front wrapper. When John F. Kennedy was sworn in as president on January 20, 1961, 31-year-old Jacqueline Kennedy became the third youngest First Lady in American history. As a presidential couple, the Kennedys differed from the Eisenhowers by their relative youth and their relationship with the media. Historian Gil Troy has noted that in particular, they “emphasized vague appearances rather than specific accomplishments or passionate commitments” and therefore fit in well in the early 1960s’ “cool, TV-oriented culture”. Kennedy’ became a fashion icon during her years in the White House, hiring American designer Oleg Cassini to design her wardrobe. She was the first First Lady to hire a press secretary, Pamela Turnure, and carefully managed her contact with the media, usually shying away from making public statements and strictly controlling the extent to which her children were photographed. Portrayed by the media as the ideal woman, academic Maurine Beasley has stated that Kennedy “created an unrealistic media expectation for first ladies that would challenge her successors.” Nevertheless, by attracting worldwide positive public attention, the First Lady gained allies for the White House and international support for the Kennedy administration and its Cold War policies. Although Kennedy stated that her priority as a First Lady was to take care of the President and their children, she also dedicated her time to the promotion of American arts and preservation of its history. Her main contribution was the restoration of the White House, but she also furthered the cause by hosting social events that brought together elite figures from politics and the arts. In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional presentation.

Churchill apparently first used his famous words upon his exit from the Battle of Britain Bunker at RAF Uxbridge on 16 August when visiting the No. 11 Group RAF Operations Room during a day of battle. Afterwards, Churchill told Major General Hastings Ismay, 'Don't speak to me, I have never been so moved'. After several minutes of silence he said, 'Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few'. The sentence would form the basis of his speech to the House of Commons on 20 August. "Never was so much owed by so many to so few" was a wartime speech made by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 20 August 1940. The name stems from the specific line in the speech, Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few, referring to the ongoing efforts of the Royal Air Force crews who were at the time fighting the Battle of Britain, the pivotal air battle with the German Luftwaffe with Britain expecting an invasion.