CHURCHILL, Winston S.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Marlborough. First edition of Vols. III-IV, later impression of Vols. I-II, inscribed by the author in all four volumes to his bank manager and handsomely bound. Vol. I is inscribed, "From Winston S. Churchill 1944"; the remaining volumes, "Inscribed by Winston S. Churchill 1946".The recipient, T. E. R. Harris, was Churchill's financial adviser at the Pall Mall branch of Lloyds Bank from 1943 to 1948. He was instrumental in setting up contact with the Italian film producer Filippo Del Giudice, who purchased the film rights to Marlborough for £50,000 (see Lough, pp. 306-7). Churchill received £30,000 in 1943 and the balance in 1944, transforming his perennially parlous finances.It was presumably to commemorate this deal that Churchill presented the set to Harris. On 1 March 1944,Harris wrote to Churchill, "I have now received the 4 volumes of 'Marlborough' which you so kindly sent to me, I thank you very much for the charming thought" (Churchill Archives, CHAR 2/494). Churchill had only inscribed the first volume, and in 1946 Harris requested inscriptions in the others. On 24 December 1946, Harris wrote to Churchill that the set was "a constant reminder of the privilege I have enjoyed of being, I hope, of some small service to you" (Churchill Archives, CHUR 2/150A-B).During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1715), Marlborough led Allied forces to victory against Louis XIV. Churchill worked on his biography for almost a decade and was given exclusive access to the Blenhei

• Printing: later

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.