CHURCHILL, Winston S.

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Lord Randolph Churchill. First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front pastedown of the first volume, "George Scrivings from Winston S. Churchill. 1 Jan 1906". Signed copies of this title are seldom encountered, and contemporary inscriptions are rarer still. Scrivings (1874-1907) served as a steward aboard Lady Randolph's hospital ship Maine in the Boer War. He afterwards worked for Winston and was "his stand-by and faithful friend. He was a man of decided character, quite undaunted by his formidable master" (Marsh, p. 161). In December 1907, Scrivings died of choleric diarrhoea in Khartoum while accompanying Churchill on his African tour. In My African Journey, Churchill includes a photograph of Scrivings and describes the blow of this loss: "Africa always claims its forfeits... I found myself standing at an open grave, while the yellow glare of the departed sun still lingered over the desert" (p. 208). Churchill's brother Jack "said he would never 'get so faithful a slave again'. Lady Randolph Churchill described him as 'such a faithful devoted servant & a good fellow'" (Buczacki, p. 34). Churchill provided a pension to Scrivings's widow, who had also worked for him as a cook and housekeeper.Lord Randolph was a major political figure of the 1880s, serving as Chancellor, Leader of the Commons, and Secretary for India. Winston's relationship with his father was respectful rather than warm; however, "when Winston later reread his father's letters, he r

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