Speech on the Surrender of the Belgian Army Delivered by the British Prime Minister in the House of Commons, May 28, 1940

by Winston S. Churchill

$1,000 · Offered by Biblio

First edition

50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York: British Library of Information, 1940. First edition, only printing. Leaflet. This is the first edition, only printing of Churchill's "Speech on the Surrender of the Belgian Army" delivered in the House of Commons on 28 May 1940, just 18 days after Churchill became Britain’s wartime Prime Minister. This four-page folded paper leaflet measures 9 inches tall x 6 inches wide (22.9 x 15.2 cm). Condition is near fine, particularly impressive given the perishable format. The pamphlet is crisp, clean, and complete, with no wear or creasing, no soiling or toning. The sole previous ownership mark is itself quite interesting contemporary provenance; a three-line, blue ink stamp in the blank upper left portion of the front cover panel reads “RECEIVED EXAMINER | REFERENCE LIBRARY | JUN 21 1940”. The excellent state of preservation hence owes to the fact that within days of issuance, this leaflet became part of a newspaper’s reference library, where it evidently resided, unmolested, for many years. The pamphlet is protected in a clear, removable, archival mylar sleeve. On 28 May 1940, the day he delivered this speech in the House of Commons “Churchill had been Prime Minister for less than three weeks. No hour had been free from bad news, worry, and the need for immediate decisions.” (Gilbert, Vol. VI, p.421) That day, facing the fall of France, in the midst of the Dunkirk evacuation, Britain was confronted with the pre-dawn capitulation of Belgium’s 38-year-

• Publisher: British Library of Information
• Year: 1940
• Edition: First Edition
• Binding: unknown

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