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 copy is ex-library, but in superior condition nonetheless - particularly the dust jacket. The dust jacket is unclipped with the $3.50 price intact. It is also entirely complete with no chips, tears, or losses. No ex-library markings of any kind. The dust jacket is marred only by some scuff marks to the lower half of the spine and a few tiny scuffs to the front face near the edges. The white cloth boards are marred only by light soiling at the edges and some tape residue where the old, library dust jacket protector was evidently taped to the boards. As with the dust jacket, there are no external ex-library markings on the book itself. Internal ex-library markings are confined to a card pocket glued to the ffep, a "Pinellas County Board of Public Instruction" ink stamp on the half title, and a blacked out ink stamp on the final free endpaper. Despite the ex-library status, this is a respectable copy notable for the superior dust jacket. The dust jacket is protected in a removable, archival quality clear cover.

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