…So Few. A Folio Dedicated to All Who Fought and Won the Battle of Britain 10th July – 31st October 1940.

PIERCE, Michael; John Golley; Roy Asser; Bill Gunston; Brian Masterton; AVM Freddie Hurrell.

$3,800.00

Item Number: 139010

London: The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, 1990.

First edition, deluxe signed limited issue of this lavishly illustrated folio commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the distinguished RAF pilots who fought in it, the most crucial battle in British history. Quarto, original publisher’s full crushed blue morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel,  inset embroidered RAF brevet to the front panel, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated with 25 tissue-guarded color silhouette portraits of distinguished RAF pilots each signed by the featured pilot and artist Michael Pierce with his embossed stamp, additionally illustrated with numerous black-and-white and full color photographs. One of a limited edition of 401 numbered copies authenticated and signed by the members of the creative team, this is number 119. Housed in the original custom silk-lined clamshell box with the original prospectus which details the work’s production. Preface by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. So Few and its companion volume So Many raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the RAF Benevolent Fund, a success which led to trade issues by W. H. Smith. In fine condition. The deluxe issue of this work is very uncommon on the market; the first copy was notably presented to Queen Elizabeth II.

The first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces, The Battle of Britain, fought between July 10th and October 31st 1940, marked the first major German defeat in the Second World War and a crucial turning point in the conflict. The Battle took its name from the speech given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June: "What General Weygand called the 'Battle of France' is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin." Churchill later summed up the battle with the words, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". Pilots who fought in the battle have been known as The Few ever since, at times being specially commemorated on 15 September, "Battle of Britain Day". On this day in 1940, the Luftwaffe embarked on their largest bombing attack yet, forcing the engagement of the entirety of the RAF in defense of London and the South East, which resulted in a decisive British victory that proved to mark a turning point in Britain's favor.