The First Collected Works of Sir Winston Churchill: Centenary Limited Edition.

CHURCHILL, Winston S.

Item Number: 61090

London: Library of Imperial History In association With Charles Scribner's Sons and The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, 1973-76.

Centenary limited edition of Sir Winston S. Churchill’s collected works, inscribed by both his wife and youngest daughter in the year of the centenary of his birth to the winner of the 1974 C & G Gimcrack Horse Race at that very race. Octavos, 34 volumes bound in the original full vellum with gilt titles and gilt-stamped Churchill coat of arms to the spines and front panels, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Each volume housed in the original dark green slipcase which is also gilt-stamped with the Churchill coat of arms. One of only 3,000 sets produced, this is number 143. Volume I, which contains My Early Life and My African Journey is inscribed by The Baroness Clementine Churchill opposite her preface, “Inscribed by Clementine Spencer Churchill” as well as her youngest daughter Mary, “presented by her youngest daughter Mary Soames, “and presented by her daughter to Mr. Ravi Tikkoo at York Races August the 22nd 1974.” The inscribed volume is housed in a custom oak and vellum clamshell box with ornate claw feet, velvet lining, and gold plaque which reads, C and G Gimcrack Stakes 1974 Presented to Mr. Ravi Tikkoo Owner of Steel Heart (Habitat – A. I. by Abernant) Winner of the C & G Gimcrack Stakes 1974, by Lady Soames in the Centenary Year of the Birth of Her Father Sir Winston Churchill.” In excellent condition. A brilliant set with exceptional provenance.

Winston S. Churchill and Clementine Hozier met at a dinner party in 1908 and after only a few months of correspondence, Winston wrote to Clementine’s mother, Lady Blanche Hozier, requesting consent for their marriage. On September 12th 1908, the two were wed at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, he more than a decade older than she and already a seasoned Parliamentarian. The Churchills had five children: Diana, Randolph, Sarah, Marigold, and Mary and their marriage was close and affectionate despite the stresses of public life throughout Churchill’s political career. To achieve publication, 11 publishing houses in Great Britain, the United States and Canada released their individual copyrights, in exchange for the promise that no other complete collection of Churchill’s works would be published until the expiration of international copyright in 2019” (Langworth, 362).