Joan of Arc

New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1969. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Lauren Ford. This interesting little book is excerpted from Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. On 29 December 1938, Churchill wrote to his wife regarding his initial draft about this part of his history: "I have just finished writing about Joan of Arc. I think she is the winner in the whole of French history. The leading women of these days were more forceful and remarkable than the men." Profusely illustrated, this slim volume contains 17 illustrations by the distinguished artist Lauren Ford. Though 16 of these illustrations had previously been published as black and white drawings, this is their first appearance in color. The illustration on the dust jacket front cover and frontispiece is original to this edition.

This little-known edition is scarce and thus missing from many collections. Many of the copies that do come on the market are ex-library with attendant flaws, very often including library stickers or writing on the spine. This is a collector-worthy copy. It is not ex-library, but instead near-fine plus in a very good plus dust jacket. The white cloth binding of this edition proved quite susceptible to soiling and signs of use. Here the binding is unusually clean - square and tight with sharp corners, bright gilt, and virtually no wear. A trivial hint of soiling is confined to the top edge of the front cover. The contents are superior - crisp and bright with no previous ownership markings or spotting. The text block edges are likewise bright and clean.

The dust jacket is unusually clean and complete, with no losses or tears. Moreover, it is unclipped, still bearing the original $3.50 price on the front flap. Trivial wear at the spine ends, front hinge, and corners and light soiling are the only dust jacket flaws noted. The dust jacket is protected in a removable, archival quality clear cover.

Reference: Cohen A279, Woods/ICS A138(j), Langworth p.334.