The World Crisis: 1911-1914
by Winston S. Churchill
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
San Diego, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Thornton Butterworth, Ltd., 1930. First edition, 8th printing. Hardcover. This is a jacketed copy of the British first edition, first printing, eighth and final printing of the first volume of the Churchill's monumental history of the First World War, in which he played such a critical, controversial, and varied role. This volume covers the first four years Churchill spent as First Lord of the Admiralty, as well as the beginning of the war. Many consider the British edition aesthetically superior to the U.S., with its larger volumes and shoulder notes summarizing the subject of each page. Unfortunately, the smooth navy cloth of the British first editions proved quite susceptible to wear and dulling, the contents prone to spotting and toning. Truly bright and clean bindings are seldom seen without the original dust jackets, and the dust jackets are exceptionally scarce.
There were eight printings (between 1923 and 1930) of the first edition of this first 1911-1914 volume. This jacketed 1930 eighth and final printing of closely conforms to the appearance of the 1923 first printing. The dust jacket print is the same on the spine, front panel, and front flap, with substantive differences only to the rear panel, which adds advertisements for the subsequent volumes in the series, and the rear flap, which adds Press Notices. The binding is identical to that of the first printing with the sole exception of the addition of a single, five-pointed gilt star on the spine, denoting that this is the first volume. Given the similar shelf appearance of both jacket and binding, this copy offers the prospect of filling a jacketed first edition set at a far more modest cost than a first printing.
Condition is near fine plus in a dust jacket that approaches near fine. The blue cloth binding is square, tight, immaculately clean, and strikingly bright, with sharp corners, perfectly rounded spine, vivid spine gilt, and no appreciable wear. The contents remain crisp and bright; the volume feels unread. A trivial hint of spotting appears confined to the otherwise clean page edges. A single previous owner name is neatly inked to the upper front free endpaper. The front free endpaper and facing front pastedown also show small rust stains consonant with two small paperclips that may have been laid in at one point.
The dust jacket is complete apart from fractional chipping at the spine head. The panels and flap folds remain bright. The jacket spine shows moderate, uniform toning and a few faint stains, but nonetheless provides quite good shelf appearance. The jacket is protected beneath a removable, archival quality clear cover. Of The World Crisis, Frederick Woods wrote: "The volumes contain some of Churchill's finest writing, weaving the many threads together with majestic ease, describing the massive battles in terms which fitly combine relish of the literary challenge with an awareness of the sombre tragedy of the events."
Churchill was in a special position to write this history, having served both in the Cabinet and on the Front. First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911 until 1915, after the failure in the Dardanelles and the slaughter at Gallipoli, Churchill was scapegoated and forced to resign. He spent part of his political exile as a lieutenant colonel leading a battalion in the trenches. Before war's end, Churchill was exonerated and rejoined the Government, but the stigma would linger. Churchill may have meant for his history of the First World War to clear his name, but his six volume masterwork far exceeds this purpose.
Reference: Cohen A69.2(I).j, Woods/ICS A31(ab), Langworth p.105.
There were eight printings (between 1923 and 1930) of the first edition of this first 1911-1914 volume. This jacketed 1930 eighth and final printing of closely conforms to the appearance of the 1923 first printing. The dust jacket print is the same on the spine, front panel, and front flap, with substantive differences only to the rear panel, which adds advertisements for the subsequent volumes in the series, and the rear flap, which adds Press Notices. The binding is identical to that of the first printing with the sole exception of the addition of a single, five-pointed gilt star on the spine, denoting that this is the first volume. Given the similar shelf appearance of both jacket and binding, this copy offers the prospect of filling a jacketed first edition set at a far more modest cost than a first printing.
Condition is near fine plus in a dust jacket that approaches near fine. The blue cloth binding is square, tight, immaculately clean, and strikingly bright, with sharp corners, perfectly rounded spine, vivid spine gilt, and no appreciable wear. The contents remain crisp and bright; the volume feels unread. A trivial hint of spotting appears confined to the otherwise clean page edges. A single previous owner name is neatly inked to the upper front free endpaper. The front free endpaper and facing front pastedown also show small rust stains consonant with two small paperclips that may have been laid in at one point.
The dust jacket is complete apart from fractional chipping at the spine head. The panels and flap folds remain bright. The jacket spine shows moderate, uniform toning and a few faint stains, but nonetheless provides quite good shelf appearance. The jacket is protected beneath a removable, archival quality clear cover. Of The World Crisis, Frederick Woods wrote: "The volumes contain some of Churchill's finest writing, weaving the many threads together with majestic ease, describing the massive battles in terms which fitly combine relish of the literary challenge with an awareness of the sombre tragedy of the events."
Churchill was in a special position to write this history, having served both in the Cabinet and on the Front. First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911 until 1915, after the failure in the Dardanelles and the slaughter at Gallipoli, Churchill was scapegoated and forced to resign. He spent part of his political exile as a lieutenant colonel leading a battalion in the trenches. Before war's end, Churchill was exonerated and rejoined the Government, but the stigma would linger. Churchill may have meant for his history of the First World War to clear his name, but his six volume masterwork far exceeds this purpose.
Reference: Cohen A69.2(I).j, Woods/ICS A31(ab), Langworth p.105.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Churchill Book Collector (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 004393
- Title
- The World Crisis: 1911-1914
- Author
- Winston S. Churchill
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition, 8th printing
- Publisher
- Thornton Butterworth, Ltd.
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1930
Terms of Sale
Churchill Book Collector
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed.
About the Seller
Churchill Book Collector
Biblio member since 2010
San Diego, California
About Churchill Book Collector
We buy and sell books by and about Sir Winston Churchill. If you seek a Churchill edition you do not find in our current online inventory, please contact us; we might be able to find it for you. We are always happy to help fellow collectors answer questions about the many editions of Churchill's many works.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...