A 1905 Handwritten Letter signed by Churchill, with a copy of Lord Randolph Churchill

Churchill, Winston S.

Published by London Macmillan and Co. Limited 1906, 1906

About this Item

A letter dated Nov. 13. 1905 in a secretarial hand, signed by Churchill and addressed to a "Gwynne", possibly the journalist, Howell Arthur Gwynne (1865-1950). Which, based upon the date, seems to be in reference to an idea of serialising or publishing an extract from his biography of Lord Randolph Churchill, which was due for publication in January 1906. The letter also briefly references Churchill's beliefs regarding political partisanship. It reads: "Dear Gwynne, I brought the proposal you made to me yesterday to Mr. Macmillan's notice but he does not like the idea of anticipating the general publication in any way. As the book is his property it is obviously impossible for me to persevere in the matter. Thank you very much however for having thought of the plan. I was glad to meet you again at Baileys and have a talk. I never have the slightest personal feeling about political differences, and it is a great pity everybody is not constituted in the same way. Yours Truly, Winston S. Churchill". The Macmillan mentioned is presumably Sir Frederick Orridge Macmillan (1851-1936), his publisher. With the letter is a two volume first edition of 'Lord Randolph Churchill', a quite presentable copy bound in the original publisher's red cloth, lettered and decorated in gilt and blind, the boards are slightly marked and rubbed, the extremities are bumped and the spines are faded. The text blocks are slightly foxed and age toned, with minor cracking at points, some water staining towards the rear of volume 1, and neatly written ink ownership inscriptions to the front endpapers of both volumes. The letter is written on 105 Mount Street headed notepaper, the address of Churchill's Mayfair flat during his bachelor days, the paper is slightly toned and marked, with a sharp fold line. An interesting letter, both with regard to the forthcoming biography of Churchill's father, and his feelings about political allegiance and loyalties, evidently still much on his mind 18 months after defecting from the Conservative Party and "crossing the floor" to join the Liberals in May 1904. Indeed, historians tend to connect the two, suggesting that Churchill utilised portions of the biography to justify his decision to defect, and Churchill later stated that his decision was partly influenced by researching into his father's career.

Seller Inventory # 6956

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A 1905 Handwritten Letter signed by Churchill, with a copy of Lord Randolph Churchill
• Publisher: London Macmillan and Co. Limited 1906
• Publication Date: 1906
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Autobiography and memoirs