World War I

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927. First edition. Hardcover. This is a spectacular, jacketed U.S. first edition set of the 1916-1918 volumes of Churchill's The World Crisis in the rare original publisher's slipcase. A quarter of a century before the Second World War endowed him with lasting fame, Winston Churchill played a uniquely critical, controversial, and varied role in the “War to end all wars”. The events of these 1916-1918 volumes include Churchill's time at the Front following his political exile and his subsequent return to the Cabinet. The U.S. is the true first edition, as U.S. Volume I publication preceded the British. Both the U.S. and British editions were originally published as six individual books between 1923 and 1931. Today, jacketed first editions are quite scarce - jacketed U.S. editions even more so. Perhaps most scarce is the original U.S. publisher's slipcase for the 1916-1918 first editions; Charles Scribner's Sons originally issued the two 1916-1918 volumes as… Read More

London: National War Aims Committee, 1918. First edition, only printing. Pamphlet. This exceptionally rare speech pamphlet contains the speech of 25 April 1918 Churchill delivered in the House of Commons as Minister of Munitions during the First World War. This is the only copy we know of in private ownership. Churchill began the First World War as the powerful First Lord of the Admiralty, but was scapegoated for the Dardanelles disaster and forced out in May 1915. By November 1915, Churchill was serving at the Front, spending part of his political exile as a lieutenant colonel leading a battalion in the trenches. His May 1916 return to London saw "no upsurge in his political fortunes" and left him criticizing the war effort from an unaccustomed "position of political weakness and personal isolation" much as he would two decades later on the eve of the Second World War. (Gilbert, Vol. III) By May 1917 there was growing parliamentary opposition to the Government. "Lloyd George knew that… Read More

1914(?)-1915/6. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo. 22.5 by 18 cm. 270 pp., almost all with one or more colorfully painted cartoons and caricatures depicting the early part of World War One, beginning in 1914 and possibly all the way through 1915. The album was made with a notebook with ruled lined paper. On most pages, the lines have been covered over, and are at most barely visible. One of the specific events alluded to is the sinking of the Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy by one German submarine, an event which occurred in September, 1914. The sinking of the Lusitania and chemical warfare are alluded to well into the album, which brings the album into the middle of 1915. It is possible the album runs into 1916 but not by much. The jingoistic, and non-subtle analysis manifest in the cartoons, does not give way to a weariness, a questioning, or disillusionment which would certainly have asserted itself later on in the war. The cover has a raised title, not fully legible anymore; from what can be made out,… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927. First U.S. edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is a superior, jacketed U.S. first edition set of the 1916-1918 volumes of The World Crisis, Churchill's acclaimed history of the First World War. A quarter of a century before the Second World War endowed him with lasting fame, Winston Churchill played a uniquely critical, controversial, and varied role in the “War to end all wars”. The events of these 1916-1918 volumes include Churchill's time at the Front following his political exile and his subsequent return to the Cabinet. The U.S. is the true first edition, as U.S. Volume I publication preceded the British. Jacketed first editions are quite scarce - jacketed U.S. editions even more so. Charles Scribner's Sons originally issued the 1916-1918 volumes as a two-volume set. This set is in excellent condition, near fine in near fine dust jackets. The maroon, ribbed cloth bindings are simply immaculate as only jacketed copies can be - vividly bright,… Read More

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1923. First edition. Hardcover. This is an extraordinary inscribed and annotated British first edition set of Churchill's history of the First World War. Each of the five books (the 1916-1918 book was issued in two volumes) is inscribed and dated by Churchill to his Aunt Clara. Clarita "Clara" Jerome Frewen (1851-1935) was the eldest sister of Churchill's mother and wife of Moreton Frewen, the famously slipshod editor of Churchill's first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force. Three inscriptions are dated pre-publication and all five are warmly personal, with Churchill using only his first name. The inscriptions alone would make the set a prize, but it is the second family association that makes the set a unique piece of history. The books passed to Clara's son and Churchill's first cousin, Captain Oswald Moreton Frewen (1887-1958). Oswald was a career naval officer who served under Churchill's leadership as First Lord of the Admiralty during both… Read More

1916. The bombardment of Anzac Cove 26 April 1915 is recounted by the author, a stoker in the British Navy, used this journal, a repurposed "Day Book of Engineers' Stores," to record his service off the Egyptian, Turkish and Syrian coasts, in the Dardanelles, and off the coast of Bulgaria during the First World War, with near daily entries between August 1, 1914 and March 26, 1916, aboard the H.M.S. Doris. The Imperial War Museum holds a diary of Captain Twigg of the H.M.S. Doris, where it states that their first action was on 25 April 1915 when she bombarded forts around Bulair. "On 26 April, together with H.M.S. Triumph, Doris shelled the area around Gaba Tepe in support of Australian troops."* Bowden's journal adds another perspective to the information from Captain Twigg. He is quite specific about which ships were involved in the various actions, what kind of shells were used in bombardments and later tells of the drowning death of his brother, who was in the British Army, and the subsequent… Read More

Bando Kriegsgefangenenlager, Japan: Lagerdruckerei, 1917. Softcover. Near Fine. A collection of eight rare printed items little known outside of Germany or Japan. The Bando POW Camp, located near Naruto, Japan, was set up in 1917 to house about one thousand German prisoners, both soldiers and civilians, who had been captured at Tsingtao, China. The collection includes the very rare camp directory: *Kriegsgefangenenlager Bando Adressbuch* (November 1917), with two fine color maps and advertisements; a beautifully illustrated children's book: *Drei Märchen* meant to be sent home to family and friends in Germany; and the final six consecutive issues of *Die Baracke* (April - September, 1919), an illustrated monthly "Zeitung für das Kriegsgefangenenlager" [Newspaper for Prisoners of War]. All eight items are remarkably well-preserved, in very good to near fine condition. Unlike other Japanese POW camps, the German prisoners at Bando were given an unusual level of freedom, and were allowed to… Read More

A detailed map of the battleground of the failed attempt by Turkish troops to invade Egypt on 3 February 1915. At the head of the map are large sketches of 'Frame of Kerosene Tin Raft in Turkish Attack' and 'Sketch of Turkish Pontoons captured at Toussoum-Serapeum 4.2.1915'. The Australian War Memorial has one of the 24 pontoons used by the 4th Turkish Army in their attempt to cross the Suez Canal in its collection. In fact, the AWM records that 'The action in which it was captured was the first in which a unit of the AIF (3 Field Company Australian Engineers) was engaged, and as such this trophy was the first captured by the army [in the First World War].... by May 1918, the Australian War Records Section was lobbying for an example to be brought back to Australia, noting that while Australian involvement by 3 Field Company Engineers was small, it was important'. Both Charles Bean ('The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18', Volume 1, Chapter VIII: 'The Turkish Expedition against… Read More

G.P.Putnam's Sons, London, 1929. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. The first printing of the first English-language edition. 8vo. 319pp. Oatmeal cloth lettered in green at the spine and upper board, and with the publisher's original green top edge stain now all but vanished. Backstrip lightly tanned and the top edge a little spotted. The free endpapers lightly browned and spotted and with just a touch more spotting to the half-title and to occasional leaf margins. A very good copy in the most uncommon first issue dust wrapper, non-price-clipped (7s. 6d. net) but chipped and a little tanned, with some loss from the spine panel ends, corner tips and top edge. A respectable copy of the first English edition of the author's highly celebrated Great War novel..

CHURCHILL "BUYS" BALFOUR A CAR!CHURCHILL, WINSTON S. "Confidential" typed letter signed by "Winston S. Churchill" as Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the name of the recipient "Bran" and part of the date "13" handwritten by Churchill.One page with the blind-stamped stationery "Treasury Chambers, Whitehall, S.W.," dated August 13, 1928. 4to.The letter concerns funds that Churchill raised to purchase a car and cover living expenses for former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour: "The subscription list is the Balfour Testimonial Fund being now closed. I feel that you, who so kindly subscribed to that fund, will like to know how much was subscribed and to what purpose it has been put. The total amount received from members of both Houses of Parliament was £4,918.6.6. [~$450,000 in 2021] The car has been paid for and the balance has been handed to Lord Balfour to be used for his personal benefit in any way he may think fit. I may add that I have received from him a letter expressing his grateful thanks to the… Read More

Thornton Butterworth Limited. London. 1923-31. FIRST EDITION SET. 6 large 8vo volumes. (9.2 x 6.3 inches). Contains maps, plans and facsimiles of letters and documents. Fine leather bound set in recent full dark blue morocco leather. Spines with raised bands, red title labels, and gilt ruling, lettering and decorations of Rampant lion device stamped to spine compartments. Single gilt ruled border on boards. All edges gilt. Some very minor spotting to a few pages of the first volume otherwise a surprisingly bright and fresh set throughout, and uncommon thus. A superior set of Churchill's great war account.

A large photo album of 52 leaves, with dipped in photos on each side. There is a total of ca. 394 pictures; 189 original photos (9 aerial photos), 168 official buy photos and postcards, 27 collotypes (from a paper?).
The size of the album is 32 x 41.5 cm.
The photos in this album are unique documents, showing the unvarnished truth of war. An album that should have its place in a museum.
The album was collated by a young German soldier, named Hans Hugo, who was born in Roth, a small Bavarian town near Nuremberg, Germany. Later, he opened a photo studio in Roth, that existed until the 1960ies. Hans Hugo was at war from October 1916 until the end of WWI in 1918.
The photos are from Belgium, France and the Baltics. There are some exciting, outstandingly rare, large original air reconnaissance, serial Photos. The largest of them, showing a battle field near Riga, measures 25 x 47.8 cm. These photos are original contact prints that were used in the general staff for the planning of battels. They have an… Read More

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1923. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is a six-volume British first edition, first printing set of Winston Churchills history of the First World War in which he played such a critical, controversial, and varied role. Sets thus, in dust jackets, are an elusive prize. When these volumes were published, between 1923 and 1931, booksellers often discarded the dust jackets. Even those spared by booksellers often did not survive. Mere presence of the jackets commands attention; this particular set is compelling, the jackets in superior condition to those in the precious few full sets we have been able to offer over the years. Of particular note, the 1911-1914 jacket is the first issue, with a blank rear face that does not advertise subsequent volumes in the series, and the exceptionally scarce Eastern Front jacket and the two 1916-1918 dust jackets so prone to brittleness and fragmentation are substantially complete and in one piece. This set features… Read More

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1923. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is a six-volume British first edition, first printing set of Winston Churchill’s history of the First World War. Full sets thus, in first printing dust jackets, are quite scarce. When these volumes were published, between 1923 and 1931, booksellers often discarded the dust jackets. Even those spared by booksellers often did not survive. In particular, the 1911-1914 first issue jacket (with a blank rear face) is quite elusive and the 1916-1918 dust jackets are notoriously fragile. The Eastern Front is scarcer still, with substantially fewer copies printed than the preceding five volumes and a jacket nearly as fragile as those for the 1916-1918 volumes. 1911-1914 The binding is square and tight with minor shelf wear to extremities and light, superficial moisture damage to the lower right of the front cover. The contents show no spotting, mild age-toning, and light shelf dust to the top edges. The sole… Read More

New York: Doubleday & Company, 1929. Rare Fiirst with Dust Jacket. 284pp. Classic World War I story by German Army veteran. Clean with clean unclipped dust jacket having light edgewear/chipping. No marks or writing. Original blue cloth. Extremely rare edition.. 1st Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good+. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.