A group of three scarce leaflets from Bertrand Russell's campaign as Labour candidate for Chelsea at the 1922 Parliamentary General Election.
£575 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd
i. RUSSELL (Bertrand). To the electors of Chelsea. First and only edition. Folio (290 x 220mm). Single sheet, folded as issued, 4 pp., front wrapper with a black and white photographic portait of Bertrand Russell and a facsimile of Russell’s signature on page three. Discreet repair to lower corner of front page, three horizontal folds, some minor creasing to edges, otherwise very good. N.p. [London], H.W. Talbot, [1922]. An outline of Russell’s election pledges, a thoroughly socialist campaign that included a capital levy and nationalisation of the coal-mines and railways in a striking move away from his earlier, more traditionally liberal political thought. Presumably distributed “on or before 7 November 1922 (the date of the first public meeting advertised on p. [4])” (Blackwell Ruja, p. 92). Blackwell Ruja, A Bibliography of Bertrand Russell , A42.1a. OCLC list only one copy, in the Bertrand Russell archives at McMaster University. ii. RUSSELL (Bertrand). Why Thinking People Vote Labour. First and only edition. 8vo (185 x 120mm). Single sheet, folded as issued, 4 pp. Some minor creasing to edges, otherwise very good. N.p. [London], H.W. Talbot, n.d. [but circa 1922-1923]. An exhibition of Russell’s social democratic credentials, the leaflet outlines four reasons why Labour deserves election, maintaining that only Labour can avert revolution, secure the economy, promote education and sanitation, and “preserve European civilisation from collapse”. Not dated and as such could
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