Marlborough: His Life and Times, by Winston S. Churchill, First Edition Thus, Two Volume Set, 1947

Churchill, Winston S. Marlborough: His Life and Times. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1947. First Edition Thus. Two Volume Set. Rebound in tan Moroccan leather boards, with raised bands, gilt titles, and tooling to spine, quilted tooling and embossed signature on front boards, and new marbled endpaper. Volumes presented together in a new archival slipcase.  

Presented is a first edition thus, two volume printing of Marlborough: His Life and Times by Winston S. Churchill. An epic biography of John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, and Churchill’s 17th century ancestor, this impressive study explores the career and personal life of one of England’s foremost military and political leaders. The two volumes are decorated with frontispiece illustrations, numerous maps and plans, and letter and document facsimiles. The volumes have been artfully rebound in full tan Moroccan leather, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine,quilted tooling and embossed signature on front boards, and new marbled endpaper. Volumes presented together in a new archival slipcase.  

Churchill’s Marlborough biography was first published in four volumes, with Volume I published in 1933, followed by Volume II in 1934, Volume III in 1936, and the final volume in 1938. After the war, paper restrictions forced the original publisher, George C. Harrap & Co., to reconfigure Marlborough into a two-volume set, published in 1947. This two-volume printing was unabridged, with "Book 1" containing Vol 1 and Vol II  [1650-1705] and "Book Two" containing Vol III and Vol IV [1705-1722]. The 1947 printing retains all the maps and plans of the original four-volume edition, but the illustrations are reduced to just the two frontispieces.

Winston Churchill conceived of this biography in 1929 and quickly secured a publisher in George C. Harrap & Co. With the assistance of research aides, Churchill began research for the project, but did not turn his full attention to the project until spring of 1932. What began as a shorter 1 or 2 volume work grew and doubled to a massive, four volume project of over one million words. In the preface to Volume I, Churchill writes "It is my hope to recall this great shade from the past, and not only invest him with his panoply, but make him living and intimate to modern eyes."

The biography was very well received. Political philosopher Leo Strauss said of Churchill's work: "Not a whit less important than his deeds and speeches are his writings, above all his Marlborough- the greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science."

CONDITION:

Very good condition. Two Volume Set. Rebound in full tan Moroccan leather, with raised bands, gilt titles, and tooling to spine, quilted tooling and embossed signature on front boards, and new marbled endpaper. Interior pages are very healthy and bright. Frontispiece illustrations, facsimile documents and letters, and black and white and colored maps, in text and several as fold-outs.

Book Dimensions: 8 3/4" H x 6 3/8" W x 2 1/8" D (each).
Slipcase Dimensions: 9 1/4" H x 6 5/8" W x 4 3/4" D.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.