Exactly 80 years to the day since Churchill became prime minister, his collection of rare books and manuscripts, spanning his life and prolific career, will now be auctioned at Sotheby's. This is a valuable portfolio of rare books, manuscripts, photographs and vintage posters,
It was May 10, 1940 when Sir Winston Churchill became prime minister and Germany had just invaded France and soon independent, self-governing Britain. From his first day in office, Churchill led the British people to the end of the Second World War with characteristic wisdom, wit and courage.
Consisting of 100 lots, the sale entirely spans Churchill's long life and career. Highlights include the largest known print of the most famous photograph of Churchill ever taken, Yousuf Karsh's iconic 1941 image of a frowning Churchill taken just after Karsh bravely snatched the cigar from Churchill's mouth (about $20.000- 26.000).
A letter from Churchill to an editor for the American New York Journal discussing Churchill's recent fatal accident on New York City's Fifth Avenue in 1931 (approximately $6.000-8.000). An autographed photograph of Edward, the Prince of Wales and Sir Winston Churchill seated side by side at a dinner organized to promote UK-US relations, nine years before Edward was forced to abdicate after falling in love in an American divorcee. Churchill later nearly destroyed his political career trying to save Edward's crown (about $18.000-24.000). A rare signed color photograph of Churchill taken by a RAF Service Airman who was released from service to photograph the Prime Minister in 1945 (approx. $12.000-18.000).
Engraved books form the core of the collection. A copy of Into Battle, Churchill's newly published collection of 1941 wartime speeches, is inscribed by Churchill with reference to the recent visit of Harry Hopkins, Franklin D. Roosevelt's emissary. Hopkins had been sent by the President to assess Churchill's and Britain's chances against the Nazis. His successful visit helped secure America's entry into World War II later that year (about $18.000-22.000). A wartime presentation copy of The Turn of the Screw is engraved by 'Mummies' to Mary, younger daughter of Winston and Clementine, as a Christmas present in 1943; a Christmas Mary spent apart from her parents running an anti-aircraft battery in Hyde Park, London (about $3.000-5.000). Two volumes of the first edition of the Official Churchill Biography (the longest biography ever written) are engraved by Churchill's son Randolph to Hollywood film star Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who had worked with Winston during World War II, developing and training command units (estimate $12.000-16.000).
The sale opens with the oldest item, Atlas to The Memoirs of John Duke of Marlborough, written by Churchill's ancestor in 1820, with a booklet from Winston Churchill's book inserted into the book. The sale concludes with first edition autographed biographies of Churchill by Boris Johnson and Andrew Roberts respectively.
Churchill himself wrote 44 books, many of which are in this sale, all first editions; from his first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force, published in 1898, through My Early Life: A Roving Commission, the only volume of personal memoir Churchill ever wrote, culminating in Churchill's Second World War Memoirs, which helped win him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. Taken together these books, eloquent speeches and revealing letters open a window into every period of Churchill's life and career.
Until now, this collection has been housed at Chartwell Booksellers, an independent bookstore in the heart of New York City. Named after Churchill's beloved home in the English Kent countryside, Chartwell is owned by Barry Singer, who opened the shop 37 years ago.
