About this Item
This is among the rarest Churchill first editions the first edition, only printing of The People s Rights in the hardcover binding, one of only 100 bound thus, instead of in illustrated paper wrappers. This copy is not only a compellingly clean, complete, and unrestored survivor, but also bibliographically significant, confirming that the hardcover issue of The People's Rights was published in 1909, not 1910.Condition is very good plus, particularly for the edition, and quite elusive thus. The binding is square and tight with no warp or lean and sharp corners. The binding is also surprisingly bright and unsullied. The spine color is quite strong with only a faint hint of sunning, also visible at the top and fore edges of the front cover and top edge of the rear cover. The gilt print on both front cover and spine remains vividly bright. Trivial shelf wear is substantially confined to the corners and spine ends. The contents were printed on cheap pulp paper which always browns and becomes brittle; there is no such thing as a "fine" copy. These contents are toned, of course, but far less so than typical and notably clean. Moreover, we note none of the typical edge chipping and no appreciable spotting. A partial, cosmetic split to the endpapers at the front pastedown gutter does not affect binding integrity. The top edge gilt is still atypically bright given the pulp paper to which it was applied. Improbably, given the tiny number produced, there are two identified states of the hardcover issue of the first edition, differentiated only by whether p.71 is mispaginated as "1". This copy does not have the p.71 mispagination, but does have a single Appendix and Index affiliated with first state wraps-bound copies, rather than the second state, wherein a second Appendix replaced the Index. The sole previous ownership mark - "F. C. Cranfield | 1909" inked in two lines on the front free endpaper recto - is not only contemporary, but bibliographically significant.As documented in Ronald Cohen's Bibliography, "100 sets of sheets were bound on 20 December 1909". The hardcover issue is not only quite scarce, but was also bound "two weeks before the publication of the paper wrappers issue." Cohen wrote that "The cloth copies may have been available in the last few days of 1909." (Cohen, Volume I, page 177) But, lacking evidence, Cohen left the official publication date as 1910. The "1909" owner notation in this copy helps settle the question. This, coupled with a previous hardcover copy we discovered dated "Dec.1909", definitively indicates 1909 publication for the hardcover issue. In 1904, Churchill quit the Conservative Party and joined the Liberals, beginning a dynamic chapter in his political career that saw him champion progressive causes and be branded a traitor to his class. In late 1909 when The People's Rights was published, Winston Churchill was a powerful political force and a member of the Cabinet. From December 3-11, 1909 Churchill was on the campaign trail for the Liberals. The People's Rights is a distillation of these nine days of speeches, criticizing the House of Lords (which had rejected the Liberal Government's budget, thus precipitating the campaign) and championing Free Trade, a graduated income tax, luxury tax, and surtaxes on unearned income. Churchill's efforts were not wasted; the election gave the Liberals a slim majority and passage of their budget. The first edition is not only an important work, but also the only edition published in Churchill's lifetime. Nearly all first edition copies were bound in bright, chrome yellow paper wraps (with a halftone photo of Churchill on the cover) and printed on cheap, pulp paper. For obvious reasons, they proved perishable; surviving copies are scarce and desirable, even when aged and worn. However, considerably scarcer is this publisher's original hardcover binding. This clean, they are truly rare.Reference: Cohen A31.1.b, Woods/ICS A16(a), Langworth p.97.
Seller Inventory # 008235
Contact seller
Report this item
