The Post-War Speeches - a full set of jacketed U.S. first editions: The Sinews of Peace, Europe Unite, In the Balance, Stemming the Tide

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1949. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Here is a full set of U.S. editions of Churchill's postwar speeches in the scarce dust jackets. These volumes span the period from immediately after the second World War, when Churchill was Leader of the Opposition, through the end of 1952, during his second Premiership. The events encompassed by these years are in many ways no less dramatic than those of the war years - the unraveling of the British Empire, the post-war recovery, the beginning of the Cold War, Soviet acquisition of the atomic bomb and U.S. invention of the hydrogen bomb. The U.S. postwar speeches were published in very small numbers, making jacketed U.S. editions much rarer than their British counterparts. Collectors should note that the U.S. postwar speeches are only four volumes, as the fifth and final volume, The Unwritten Alliance, had no U.S. edition.

All four volumes offered here are in fine condition - clean, tight, and square with unfaded bindings, and bright contents. Three of the four dust jackets are unclipped, with only Stemming the Tide having a neatly price-clipped front flap. Stemming the Tide (one of only 1,850 printed and the scarcest of the four) is a bright and tight example with no spotting and no inscriptions. The dust jacket remains bright and clean, but shows light overall wear and minor chipping at spine ends. In the Balance (one of 2,000 printed) is a likewise fine book with no spotting and no inscriptions. The unclipped jacket retains the original $5.00 price on the front flap and his highly complete, with only minor wear and loss at the spine ends.

Europe Unite (one of 2,500 printed) is a fine copy with a bright turquoise binding and tight, clean contents. No spotting and no inscriptions. The dust jacket is bright, clean, and complete, still bearing the $5.00 price on the front flap. Shelf presentation is excellent, with only a hint of color shift between the front face and the spine. What prevents this dust jacket from being near-fine or better is a 2.5 inch closed tear and associated wrinkling at the bottom of the front face. The Sinews of Peace (one of 3,000 printed) is clean and tight with an inked gift inscription dated 1949 on the ffep (from the "Women's Breakfast Club of Saginaw"). The dust jacket is clean, bright, and unclipped, still bearing the original $3.00 price on the front flap. Light wear is confined to the corners and spine extremities and two short closed tears at the hinge. All four dust jackets are protected in removable, archival quality clear covers.

Reference: Cohen A241.2, A246.2, A255.2, A264.2; Woods/ICS A124(b), A128(b), A130(b), A137(b); Langworth pages 285, 297, 302, 310