Marlborough

signed by Churchill

The only signed limited edition of any of Winston Churchill's writing,
the author's magnum opus biography of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough who led allied forces against Louis XIV to victory.

'Marlborough was originally intended to run to only 200,000 words, but eventually exceeded 1,000,000' - Muir. It was ten year in the writing and 'took its place at once among the classics of historical writing. as the story of his ancestor's leadership of a grand alliance to prevent the domination of the Continent by a single power, it was also a source of inspiration to Churchill in his campaign against appeasement' (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

On his father's side, Winston Churchill was a descendant of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and the builder of Blenheim Palace that became Churchill's ancestral home and indeed where he was born.

In 1943, just before Churchill attended the Quebec Conference, he was negotiating the film rights to Marlborough with Sir Alexander Korda and MGM. As the bidding was being pushed up, it was decided to obtain tax advice from Lloyds Bank and Mr. T.E.R Harris was consulted. As it happened, Harris was acquainted with the well-known and rather eccentric film producer Filippo Del Giudice ('Mr Del' as he was known), who at around the same time was in mid-production on Laurence Olivier's film of Henry V, which Churchill asked to be fashioned as a piece of morale-boosting propaganda for British troops. This may have helped Del Giudice, backed by J. Arthur Rank and his own production company Two Cities, to secure the rights to Marlborough, for a staggering £50,000. Although Marlborough was destined never to be made, the deal transformed Churchill's finances and allowed him to open negotiations to buy back the rights to the History of the English-Speaking Peoples.

Limited edition, number 150 of 150 copies, volume I signed beneath the colophon; 4 vols, large 8vo (248 x 180 mm); portrait frontispiece to each vol., a further 99 plates, 182 maps and plans, the odd, very minor peripheral spot, otherwise very bright and near-fine; publisher's full tan morocco, lettered in gilt, Marlborough coat of arms to upper cover of each vol., marbled endpapers, top edge gilt and others untrimmed, as published, slight fading to spines, some very mild toning in places, a couple of mild dents to lower part of rear board to vol. I, opaque mark to gilt top edge of vol. IV, otherwise near-fine; later half tan morocco solander boxes over red cloth, one-line gilt panel, lettered and numbered in gilt; uniform fading to spines the stains to some cloth sides, possibly a glue reaction from the making but unclear, otherwise very good.

Cohen A97.2.