This is an original Second World War press photograph of Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill on 31 August 1943 delivering a broadcast address to the Canadian people from Quebec just after the 'Quadrant' conference with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King.The gelatin silver print on glossy photo paper measures 8 x 6.125 inches (20.3 x 15.6 cm). Condition is very good, the image bright and complete, despite incidental scuffs and blemishes. The verso of the photograph features the original typed caption. The photograph is numbered "696626" credited to the "NEW YORK BUREAU" and titled "CHURCHILL NOT THE SITUATION IS GRAVE". The caption reads "QUEBEC Prime Minister Winston Churchill strikes a serious pose just before broadcasting to the World in his first address after the Allied war conference in Quebec. Mr. Churchill, shown here in a National Film Board Photo, disclosed that the conference devoted itself primarily to the war with Japan." Below this caption are two lines reading "BUR MGS LON" and CREDIT LINE (ACME) 9/2/43". The date "SEP 1943" is ink-stamped twice on the caption. Churchills First Quebec conference with Roosevelt in August 1943 was code-named "Quadrant". Churchill was accompanied by his wife, daughter Mary, and a "formidable team" of two hundred, most of whom set sail aboard the Queen Mary in the afternoon of 5 August. En route, Churchill and his Chiefs of Staff discussed every aspect of the war, including the twice-postponed and much awaited cross-Channel invasion, "Overlord". "It was Churchills first opportunity to learn from his advisers the full details of the Overlord plan " (Gilbert, VII, p.462) While in Quebec, Churchill and Roosevelt both lived at the Citadel, the summer residence of the Governor-General, the upstairs floor of which was prepared for Roosevelt "with ramps fitted wherever necessary for his wheelchair." (Gilbert, Vol. VII, p.468)Following their short, initial stay in Quebec, Churchill was invited to Hyde Park, President Roosevelts home on the Hudson River. Churchills and Roosevelts discussions at both Hyde Park (12-14 August) and in Quebec (17-24 August), included the recent overthrow of Mussolini and battle to subjugate Italy, command of the forthcoming cross-Channel invasion (Churchill conceded to FDRs choice of Eisenhower, passing over Brooke, to whom command had already been promised), command in South-East Asia, sharing of information on development of the atomic bomb, and relations with Stalin. "On August 26, Churchill left Quebec for the Laurentian mountains, to a mountain retreat on the Montmorency river, La Cabane de Montmorency, and a fishing camp on the Lac des Neiges, four thousand feet above sea level." It was "In the solitude at La Cabane" that "Churchill worked on the broadcast he had agreed to give to the Canadian people. "On the morning of August 31 Churchill returned to Quebec, where, from the Citadel, he made his broadcast to the Canadian People. Here at the gateway of Canada, he proclaimed, in mighty lands which have never known the totalitarian tyrannies of Hitler and Mussolini, the spirit of freedom has found safe and abiding home. That night, Churchill left by train for Washington." (Gilbert, VII, pp. 484-7)This press photo once belonged toa newspapers working archive. During the first half of the twentieth century, photojournalism grew as a practice, fundamentally changing the way the public interacted with current events.Newspapers assembled expansive archives, including physical copies of all photographs published or deemed useful for potential future use, their versos typically marked with ink stamps and notes providing provenance and captions. Today these photographs exist as repositories of historical memory, technological artifacts, and often striking pieces of vernacular art.
This is an original Second World War press photograph of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill introducing Field Marshal and South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts to the British Parliament on 21 October 1942.The gelatin silver print is on heavy glossy photo paper and measures 10 x 8 in (25.4 x 20.32 cm). Condition is very good with a clean, crisp appearance. There is modest wear, substantially confined to the white border margins, with the exception of a small tear and loss at the lower left corner, not appreciably affecting the image. The verso features the ink stamp of "Keystone Press Agency Ltd." The original Keystone caption remains tipped onto the verso. It is titled: "FIELD MARSHAL SMUTS ADDRESSES | MEMBERS OF BOTH HOUSES 21.10.42." The caption text reads: "Field Marshal Smuts today addressed | members of both Houses of Parliament. | Mr. Lloyd George presided at the meeting, | and Mr. Churchill made a brief speech. | KEYSTONE PHOTO SHOWS. Mr. Churchill | speaking today." By 1942, Churchill and Smuts had known one another for more than four decades. Their acquaintance began inauspiciously. In 1899 Winston Churchill, age 24, was captured during the Boer War. Churchills Afrikaner interrogator was Jan Smuts, age 29. Smuts opposed Churchills release. Churchill famously escaped. They met again in 1906, when Churchill was at the Colonial Office, and Smuts had become a Commando general. Their agreement to "a fresh start between Briton and Boer" led to formation of a self-governing Union of South Africa. (Roberts, WWD, p.105) Smuts served as its second prime minister from 1919-1924. Both men attended War Cabinets in the First World War. Smuts was an early member of Churchill's Other Club where, in 1933, in the midst of Churchills "wilderness years" (and his own), Smuts said that Churchill should have been Prime Minister and "Let me say this if my old friend is careful, he will get there yet." (Ibid. p.570) Smuts got there first. The September 1939 parliamentary vote that brought South Africa into the Second World War on the Allied side also resulted in the return of Smuts to the premiership (1939-1948). Churchill became British prime minister in May 1940. By 1941 Smuts had joined the British War Cabinet, been appointed a Field Marshal in the British Army and become a critical advisor to Churchill. In July 1942, British troops defeated Rommels forces in the First Battle of El Alamein, but Allied momentum then stalled. Churchill flew to Cairo on 1 August to assess command. Smuts accompanied Churchill and was instrumental in encouraging Churchills difficult decision to replace Middle East Commander-in-Chief Auchinleck with Alexander. Churchill wrote to his wife of Smuts "He fortified me where I am inclined to be tender-hearted " (Ibid. p.748) When Smuts died in 1950, Churchill told the Other Club that he had admired Smuts unreservedly, accepting advice from him that he would not have taken from anybody else besides his wife. (Ibid. p.918)This press photo once belonged toa newspapers working archive. During the first half of the twentieth century, photojournalism grew as a practice, fundamentally changing the way the public interacted with current events.Newspapers assembled expansive archives, including physical copies of all photographs published or deemed useful for potential future use, their versos typically marked with ink stamps and notes providing provenance and captions. Photo departments would often take brush, paint, pencil, and marker to the surface of photographs themselves to edit them before publication. Today these photographs exist as repositories of historical memory, technological artifacts, and often striking pieces of vernacular art.
This original Second World War Official U. S. Navy photograph captures the moments just before the formal signing of the Instrument of Surrender on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay just after 9:00 AM on 2 September 1945. Visible in the upper center of the image are the two Japanese representatives who signed Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu, with their retinue in two rows behind them. In the image center, the four men standing or moving on the other side of the table where the document awaits signature are, left to right: Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey (walking with both of his arms in front of him), one of only four officers to attain the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the U.S. Navy. The Missouri was the flagship of Halseys Third Fleet. Standing before the table, facing the Japanese, with his back to the camera, is U.S. Army General George C. Kenney, commander of Allied Air Forces in the South West Pacific Area. Facing and walking toward Halsey, with notes in his hand, is General Douglas MacArthur who, as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, would preside over the demilitarization and democratization of occupied Japan. To the right of MacArthur, standing beside the microphone from which MacArthur addresses the assembly, is Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, as well as all Allied ground and air forces based in the region. Like Halsey, Nimitz was one of only four officers to attain the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the U.S. Navy.The gelatin silver print measures 10 x 8.125 inches (25.4 x 20.6 cm). Condition is very good plus, the paper complete and the image clean, with only light wear confined to the white border. The verso features a four-line ink stamp at the lower left reading "OFFICIAL U.S. NAVY PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". At the lower right, written in black in three lines is "9/2/47 | Jap Surrender aboard | USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay". Obviously the "47" in the date is erroneous. Written in pencil at the lower center of the verso is "MacArthur, Halsey, Nimitz". In blue ink in the white lower margin of the image, below each of the subject men, is written "Halsey Kenny MacArthur Nimitz". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.MacArthur had addressed the assembly thus:"We are gathered here, representatives of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored. The issues involving divergent ideals and ideologies have been determined on the battlefields of the world and, hence, are not for our discussion or debate. The terms and conditions upon which surrender of the Japanese Imperial Forces is here to be given and accepted are contained in the instrument of surrender now before you I now invite the representatives of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters to sign the instrument of surrender at the places indicated."Prepared by the War Department and approved by President Truman, the Instrument of Surrender set out in eight short paragraphs the complete capitulation of Japan. The opening words, "We acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese Government, and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, hereby accept " signified the importance attached to the Emperors role and the necessity of acceptance by both civil and military authority. The second short paragraph made the unequivocal nature of the capitulation clear: "We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control wherever situated." On 6 September, the surrender document and a second imperial rescript were presented to President Truman in Washington, D.C. The documents were exhibited at the National Archives before being formally received into the National Archives holdings.
This is an original Second World War Official U. S. Navy photograph of the USS Shaw after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.The gelatin silver print measures 10 x 8.125 inches (25.4 x 20.6 cm). Condition is very good plus, the paper complete and the image clean, with no appreciable fading, toning, or scuffing. Trivial wear appears confined to the edges and within the white border margins. The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading "OFFICIAL U. S. NAVY PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". Above and to the right of the ink stamp, written in pencil, is "USS Shaw | Pearl Harbor | Dec 7 1941". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 ranks among the pivotal moments of the twentieth century, as it propelled the United States to formally enter the Second World War, dramatically escalating the conflict, resulting in the defeat of Germany and Japan, and precipitating Americas development and use of the atomic bomb.This image captures the still-smoking ruin of the Mahan-class destroyer USS Shaw, commissioned in 1936. Shaw was raised out of the water in a floating dry dock in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, on 7 December 1941. There she attracted the attention of several Japanese bombers during the second strike wave. "These hit her with three bombs at about the same time as they were attacking the then-nearby battleshipNevada. These bombs all hit the forward portion of the ship. The resulting fires proved uncontrollable, andShawwas ordered abandoned. As efforts were underway to flood the drydock about a half-hour after she was hit, her forward ammunition magazines detonated in a spectacular blast, completely removing her bow leavingShaw's after portion afloat, with an intense fire raging at its front.Though USSShawwas originally thought to be a total loss it was soon realized that damage in her machinery spaces and further aft was minor. In mid-December, she was hauled out of the water on Pearl Harbor's marine railway and measured for a temporary bow, which was attached in late January 1942 Following sea trials, which showed that this rather short destroyer could still be driven at 25 knots,Shawleft Pearl Harbor on 9 February 1942 to steam to the west coast. There, the Mare Island Navy Yard constructed and installed a new bow section, bringing her back up to the same appearance and combat effectiveness as the other ships of her class." (Naval History and Heritage) Shaw served in the Pacific for the duration of the war, earning 11 battle stars.
This original Second World War U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph captures Churchill, Stalin, and Truman at the Potsdam conference, just days before Churchill was replaced as wartime Prime Minister. The gelatin silver print on matte photo paper measures 10 x 8.25 inches (25.4 x 21 cm). Condition is very good plus. The paper shows no creases and the image is crisp and clean with only a hint of wear to the corners and trivial scratches visible only under raking light. The image's lower left features the circular emblem of "SIGNAL CORPS U.S. Army" embedded in the negative, as well as an image identification number ("209233-S") on the lower right. Blue ink notation in the white upper margin identifies Stalin, Truman, and Churchill, as well as "Pavlov" (Stalins interpreter Vladimir Nikolayevich Pavlov) and "Leahy" (U.S. Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy). The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading "U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". The photograph is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.Following Germanys unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, the three allied leaders, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the new U.S. President Harry Truman, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, agreed to a summer meeting to negotiate postwar reconstruction in Europe. The conference was held in Potsdam, in occupied Germany, from 17 July to 2 August 1945. This image captures all three leaders, Truman in the center facing the camera flanked by Stalin and Churchill, who face one another. Before the conferences end Truman officially told Stalin about the existence of the Atomic Bomb. Stalin, who had spies inside the Manhattan Project and was fully informed, feigned surprise. The conference concluded with the issuing of the Potsdam Declaration which demanded that Japan surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction". The conference - the last of the "Big Three" meetings during the Second World War - coincided with the British General Election of 1945. Having done so much to win the war, Churchill faced frustration of his postwar plans when his wartime government fell to Labour in the General Election held during the conference. On 26 July 1945, only days after this photo was taken, Churchill was replaced as Prime Minister by Clement Attlee, who represented Britain for the rest of the conference.In view of the coming election, on 15 June Churchill had formally invited Attlee to the Conference: "His Majestys Government must, of course, bear the responsibility for all decisions. But my idea was that you should come as a friend and counsellor, and help us on the subjects on which we have been so long agreed " This invitation turned out to be not only gracious, but practical. Churchill was gracious once again in his 26 July statement from 10 Downing Street: "It only remains for me to express to the British people, for whom I have acted in these perilous years, my profound gratitude for the unflinching, unswerving support which they have given me during my task, and of the many expressions of kindness which they have shown towards their servant." Churchill would be relegated to Leader of the Opposition for more than six years until the October 1951 General Election, when Churchills Conservatives outpaced Labour, returning Churchill to 10 Downing Street for his second and final premiership. By the time Churchill returned to 10 Downing Street, the always uneasy and fraught relations with Stalin had devolved to the open contest of the Cold War. Stalin would die as Soviet Premier on 5 March 1953. Trumans Presidency, bookended by Churchills two premierships, ended on 20 January 1953.
This original Second World War press photograph shows British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill on 7 January 1941 accepting presentation of Canadas "Victory Torch" at 10 Downing Street. Churchills countenance in profile in this image is noteworthy for being particularly crisp, with him looking down, smoke curling up from the end of the lit cigar clenched between his teeth, as the Canadian dignitary looks on.The gelatin silver print is on glossy photo paper measuring 10 x 8 in (25.4 x 20.32 cm). The condition is very good with a clean, crisp appearance, light wear confined to the white margins. The verso features an oval ink stamp attributing the copyright to "N. P. A. ROTA" and indicates that the image was "SUPPLIED BY GRAPHIC PHOTO UNION". A second ink stamp confirms that the image was "RECEIVED" by The Daily Telegraph Art Department on "1 July 1941". An original typed caption tipped onto the verso is titled "PRESENTATION OF CANADAS "VICTORY TORCH" TO THE PRIME MINISTER AT NO 10 DOWNING STREET." The caption text reads: "Canadas Torch of Victory which arrived in England on Saturday last was brought by air [xx] to this country by Mr Ian Mackenzie, Canadian Minister of Pensions. The torch which passed through the Dominions chief cities to arouse interest in the Canadian War Loan was this afternoon presented by Mr Mackenzie to the Prime Minister. P.S. [Ian Mackenzie crossed out] Mr Winston Churchill reading the roll of the names of Mayors which was sent over in the torch. I/7/41." In two places the typed caption is hand-emended. This press photo once belonged tothe working archive of The Daily Telegraph. During the first half of the twentieth century, photojournalism grew as a practice, fundamentally changing the way the public interacted with current events.Newspapers assembled expansive archives, including physical copies of all photographs published or deemed useful for potential future use, their versos typically marked with ink stamps and notes providing provenance and captions. Photo departments would often take brush, paint, pencil, and marker to the surface of photographs themselves to edit them before publication. Today these photographs exist as repositories of historical memory, technological artifacts, and often striking pieces of vernacular art.
This original Second World War U.S. Navy photograph captures U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, and a retinue of their senior staff in the garden of Roosevelts residence at the end of the Casablanca conference on 24 January 1943. Standing left to right behind Roosevelt and Churchill are Harry Hopkins, Lieutenant General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Admiral Ernest King, General George C. Marshall, Admiral Dudley Pound, RAF Marshal Charles Portal, Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, Field Marshal John Dill, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, and General Brehon B. Somervell. Others are unidentified.The gelatin silver print measures 10.25 x 8 inches (26 x 20.3 cm). Condition is very good, the paper complete and the image clean, with no appreciable fading, toning, or scuffing. Trivial wear appears confined to the edges and within the white border margins. The upper white border margins feature blue ink notation identifying eight of the individuals in the image. The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading "OFFICIAL U. S. NAVY PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". Above and to the right of the ink stamp in three lines in pencil is written "Casablanca Conference | Jan. 14 Feb. 26 1943 | Surrender Terms". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.From 14-24 January 1943, two months after the Anglo-American landings in French North Africa, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco, to plan Allied military strategy. Stalin was invited but declined to attend allegedly due to the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad. The Conference determined that invasion of Sicily would follow North Africa, addressed force deployments and lines of attack in the Far East, and agreed on concentrated bombing of Germany. Perhaps most important, Roosevelt and Churchill resolved to demand "unconditional surrender" from Germany, Italy, and Japan as the necessary precursor to postwar peace a policy that aroused criticism and controversy both during and after the war.This photo captures the two Allied leaders and their retinue in the garden behind the villa where President Roosevelt stayed, called "Dar Es Saada" which Churchill translated as "Abode of Divine Favor". (FDR Presidential Library) There Roosevelt and Churchill held a press conference at approximately 12:30 PM for fifty Allied newspapermen. Roosevelt read out a prepared statement in which he outlined the events of the Conference and "The determination that peace can come to the world only by the total elimination of German and Japanese war power" and "the destruction of the philosophies in those countries which are based on conquest and the subjugation of other people." (Gilbert, VII, p.309) Churchill appealed directly to the agents of the press in their presentation of the Conference to their readers: "Give them the picture of unity, thoroughness and integrity of the political chiefs." (ibid.) Of this meeting with the press Churchill told Roosevelt, "We charmed them all right." (Roberts, Walking with Destiny, p.768)
This is an original Second World War Official U.S. Navy photograph of Allied landings on the beaches at Normandy in France on 6 June 1944. This image, with an armada of ships filing the view to the horizon and an incredible tide of soldiers and vehicles moving steadily onto and up the beach, conveys a staggering sense of the unprecedented marshalling of personnel and material. Everything in the image conveys a sense of the sheer scale of the endeavor, from the skies full of barrage balloons to the individual soldiers, dotted among the ships and vehicles. The gelatin silver print measures 10.25 x 8 inches (26 x 20.3 cm). Condition is very good plus, the paper complete and the image clean, with no appreciable fading, toning, or scuffing, and only minor wear confined to the blank white margins. We cannot definitively decipher six characters inked in blue in the center of the blank bottom white margin. The verso features a four-line ink stamp at the lower left reading "OFFICIAL U.S. NAVY PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". Two lines are written in pencil on the verso above and to the right of the ink stamp: "'D' Day in Normandy | June 6, 1944". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.Operation Overlord commenced on 6 June 1944, when the United States, Britain, and their WWII allies, under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, launched the largest amphibious invasion in history. Allied landings on the beaches at Normandy, France, which came to be known as D-Day, began the campaign that ended with Germanys unconditional surrender. The Allies celebrated their final victory over Germany less than one year later on V-E Day, 8 May 1945.
This is an original Second World War British War Office photograph of Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill meeting with representatives of the Polish Navy at 10 Downing Street on 2 November 1943. Pictured, right to left, are Prime Minister Churchill, Vice Admiral Swirsky, Chief of the Polish Navy, Captain Stoklasa, Polish Naval Attache, and Commander Kodrebski, Chief of Staff of the Polish Navy.The gelatin silver print on heavy glossy photo paper measures 8 x 6 in (20.32 x15.24 cm). Condition is very good, the image clean and crisp, the paper showing only light wear, primarily confined to the corners. The verso of the photograph is quite informative. An ink stamp at the lower right clearly states that this is a "BRITISH OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH" that was "ISSUED BY PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS AGENCIES LTD." to the left of the ink stamp is notation in pencil explaining how the image was stored in the archives: "file under the Poles not the PM". The balance of the verso is taken up by the original, quite extensive, original typed caption. This caption begins with an embargo date "FOR FIRST PUBLICATION DAILY PAPERS, WEDNESDAY, 3.11.43." The caption slip identifies this image as "BRITISH OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH NO. BH. 21738 (XP) (War Office Photograph. Crown Copyright Reserved). The caption is titled "POLISH NAVY MAKES PRESENTATION TO MR. CHURCHILL." The caption text reads: "To commemorate the fourth anniversary of the co-operation of the Royal Navy and the Polish Navy, a presentation was made to Mr. Churchill by representatives of the Polish Navy. The presentation took the form of a silver plaque showing three Polish destroyers steaming to meet H.M.S. Wallace off May Island on September 1st, 1939, and was made by Vice Admiral SWIRSKI, Chief of the Polish Navy. The Presentation took place at 10 Downing Street on November 2nd, 1943. A similar ceremony took place at the Admiralty, when a replica of the plaque was presented to Mr. A.V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty. Picture shows Right to left, the Prime Minister, Vice Admiral SWIRSKI (Chief of the Polish Navy), Capt. STOKLASA (Polish Navy Attache) and Commander KODREBSKI (Chief of Staff, Polish Navy). (Picture issued November, 1943)". The embargo date is restated at the end of the caption: "FOR FIRST PUBLICATION DAILY PAPERS, WEDNESDAY, 3.11.43." This press photo once belonged toa newspapers working archive. During the first half of the twentieth century, photojournalism grew as a practice, fundamentally changing the way the public interacted with current events.Newspapers assembled expansive archives, including physical copies of all photographs published or deemed useful for potential future use, their versos typically marked with ink stamps and notes providing provenance and captions. Photo departments would often take brush, paint, pencil, and marker to the surface of photographs themselves to edit them before publication. Today these photographs exist as repositories of historical memory, technological artifacts, and often striking pieces of vernacular art.
This numbered and handsomely bound limited edition is a lovely book about one of the 20th century's most strikingly beautiful books. In 1932, T. E. Lawrence "of Arabia" published a translation of Homers Odyssey. Illustrated by celebrated American typographer and type designer Bruce Rogers (1870-1957), Lawrences Odyssey was a masterpiece, an aesthetically magnificent book and a highly regarded translation. This volume brings together letters about the translation and publication of the 1932 Bruce Rogers Odyssey. The publisher of this limited edition was Castle Hill Press, the premier editors and fine press publishers of material by and about T. E. Lawrence, founded by Lawrences official biographer, Jeremy Wilson (1944-2017). Of a total edition printed for subscribers limited to 377 numbered copies, 250 were bound thus, in either full or quarter cloth. This copy is hand numbered "234" on the limitation page. The binding features a quarter cloth spine in oatmeal-colored linen over yellow-gold paper-covered boards with a gilt-stamped tan-orange Morocco goatskin spine label.The illustrated contents are bound with yellow-gold silk head and tail bands, yellow-gold topstain, and fine endpapers illustrated with a gilt medallion portrait of Homer with his lyre. We acquired this copy directly from the publisher and condition is as-new, the binding and contents beautifully fresh.From the publisher: "Lawrence's translation [of The Odyssey] has been continuously in print for more than 80 years. By that yardstick it is second only to Seven Pillars of Wisdom among his literary achievements. The money the translation earned proved extremely useful to him. It meant that, despite the economic constraints of the early 1930s, he was able to turn his Dorset cottage 'Clouds Hill' into a home fit to live in when he retired from the RAF. Bruce Rogers was one of the most distinguished typographers and book designers of his time. The 1932 Odyssey is one of his finest works, ranked among the most beautiful books produced in the 20th century. Bruce Rogers also designed two subsequent trade editions of the translation. The 1932 first edition was co-published by Emery Walker. It was one of the last major works printed by Emery Walker Ltd while he was still actively involved in the company. In 1888, the year of Lawrence's birth, it was Walker who inspired William Morris to found the Kelmscott Press. Morris in turn had inspired both Lawrence and Bruce Rogers to become interested in fine printing. In a sense, their magnificent 1932 Odyssey brought the story full circle. For Lawrence, Rogers and Walker were living legends."
This is an exceptionally clean first edition, second printing. This second printing was published in May 1939, the same month as the first printing, and is identical with the sole exception of the print history on the copyright page.Condition is near fine in a near fine dust jacket. The jacket is clean, bright, and complete apart from a neatly price-clipped lower front flap. Trivial wear is confined to hinges and extremities. The jacket is fitted with a clear, removable, archival cover. The volume beneath it suits its jacket. The khaki cloth binding is tight and clean with sharp corners, bright spine gilt, and no appreciable wear apart from a little wrinkling to the spine heel. The contents are bright with a crisp, unread feel. The brown-stained top edges retain deep, unfaded color. The sole detraction that prevents our grading the volume as fine is spotting, primarily confined to the prelims and to the fore and bottom edges. A small bookplate with a printed name is affixed to the upper front free endpaper recto and a tiny sticker of "Anthony Hoderns", which traded under that name from 1823-1966 in Sydney, Australia, evolving from a drapery shop into a major department store.Published four years after Lawrences death, Oriental Assembly was arranged by his brother and literary executor, A. W. Lawrence. The book purports to contain "all the hitherto uncollected writings by Lawrence about the East. First, a Diary kept during a journey which Lawrence made on foot through Northern Syria in the summer of 1911, chiefly for the purpose of studying and photographing Crusaders castles and of collecting antiquities for the Museum at Oxford In addition the book contains the full text of the suppressed Introductory Chapter to Seven Pillars of Wisdom." Two essays one on The Changing East (previously published anonymously) and The Evolution of a Revolt are also published here. "The second part of the book contains over 100 remarkable and mostly unpublished photographs taken by Lawrence during the Revolt in the Desert."During the First World War, Thomas Edward "T. E." Lawrence (1888-1935) experienced a transformative odyssey as instigator, organizer, hero, and tragic figure of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, which he began as an eccentric junior intelligence officer and ended as "Lawrence of Arabia". But, as the diary published here indicates, less than a decade before, he trekked alone through the Middle East for a far more esoteric and academic purpose. And, as also indicated here in essays and images, Lawrences interest in the Middle East exceeded the deeds, wartime exigencies, and eventual Seven Pillars of Wisdom recounting of his role in the Arab Revolt.Reference: O'Brien A221
This is a first printing of the first American edition. This example is in good plus condition. The orange cloth binding is tight and square with sharp corners. The spine is mildly and uniformly sunned with a tiny closed tear to the head and a faint vertical crease. The contents are crisp, clean, and bright with no spotting and no appreciable age toning. The orange topstain retains uniform, unfaded color. Even the untrimmed fore edges and bottom edges are immaculately bright. The sole previous ownership mark is contemporary - a location, "Rolla, B.C." and the date "March 11th 1937" all inked in the same hand on the upper front free endpaper recto.Cards on the Table is a Poirot murder mystery, and features the first introduction of crime writer Ariadne Oliver, "Christie's literary alter ego and parody of herself". Poirot and three other detectives are invited to a game of bridge along with four other guests, whom the host (a "flamboyant collector" of crime-related memorabilia) believes to be murderers. While the detectives play bridge in one room, the other guests play in another room. Before the night is out, the host is found murdered, and Poirot must use psychology to unravel the crime.Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best-selling novelist of all time, most well known for her works of mystery featuring detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Born to a wealthy family in Devon, Agatha Christie spent her happy childhood within the pages of books, having taught herself to read at an early age. Following her fathers death she was sent to a finishing school in Paris. Upon her return to England in 1910 she found her mother ill so they set off to the warmer climate of Cairo for her recovery. This first experience in Egypt was a formative one for the future writer; archaeology, Egyptology, and the Middle East would serve as settings for many of her most famous works. Though Christie was writing through the 1910s and had a number of short stories published under pseudonyms, it would be a decade before her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published.Agatha Christie was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956 in honor of her contribution to British literature. Today Christies titles have sold over two billion copies, placing her behind only Shakespeare and the Bible in sales. Her play The Mousetrap has the longest continual initial run of any play, having been performed continuously in Londons West End since its opening in 1952.
This is the record of the First World Wars Egyptian Expeditionary Force and their actions on the Near Eastern front. This copy belonged to the library of the British Armys Staff College, Camberley.The text contains unattributed accounts by T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935), who found fame as instigator, organizer, hero, and tragic figure of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, which he began as an eccentric junior intelligence officer and ended as "Lawrence of Arabia." This second English edition was issued swiftly following the first, but rather than the buff card binding of the first edition, which was published by "The Palestine News' in December 1918, this edition was slightly more durably bound, with an olive-gray linen spine over olive-gray paper-covered boards, and published by His Majesty's Stationery Office in 1919. The copy is complete, intact, and unrestored, in very good minus overall condition. Provenance is noteworthy. The bookplate affixed to the front pastedown is that of the British Armys "Staff College, Camberley". On the plate are two ink-stamps, both in purple. An oval stamp is that of "STAFF COLLEGE LIBRARY" and date of "JAN 30 1922". An overlaying rectangular stamp reads, in two lines, "WITHDRAWN | H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE" with a crown intervening. The only other indications of provenance are a small library sticker on the upper spine and "D(5)II G" inked on the upper left front cover. Two superficial scars at the lower right of the front cover may indicate previous removal of an additional label.Despite ex-library status, this is a clean copy. The binding remains square, tight, and unfaded, with only modest wear to extremities and light overall soiling. The contents are respectably bright with no spotting."This book contains the order of battle and the campaign maps for the Near Eastern front of which Lawrences campaign was a part. Two pieces of text were written by Lawrence. The book is not always recognized as containing Lawrences work, as the pieces are unsigned." Together with the reports in the Arab Bulletin and in The Times, Lawrences contributions to this book are "his first published accounts of the Arab campaign. The publisher, The Palestine News, was the official newspaper of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and was edited by H. Pirie-Gordon" (OBrien) Created in 1916 to guard the Suez Canal, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force was an archetypal multi-ethnic, multinational British imperial formation composed of troops from across the empire including India, Australia, and New Zealand. During the First World War they evolved, as the E.E.F. campaigned against the Ottomans in Egypt and Palestine. This book records the E.E.F.s actions from July 1917 when General Allenby took command to October 1918 when the Armistice of Mudros ended conflict in the Middle Eastern theatre. In 1916, under the auspices of the British Arab Bureau, The Arab Bulletin was founded on the initiative of T. E. Lawrence to provide "a secret magazine of Middle East politics" intended to inform officials and military commanders. Here Lawrence first published his records of the Arab campaign, some of which were included in The Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. Lawrence would later and most famously tell the full tale of his role in and perspective on the Arab revolt in Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Reference: O'Brien A012
This is an original Second World War British War Office photograph of Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill meeting with representatives of the Polish Navy at 10 Downing Street on 2 November 1943. Pictured, right to left, are Prime Minister Churchill, Vice Admiral Swirsky, Chief of the Polish Navy, Captain Stoklasa, Polish Naval Attache, and Commander Kodrebski, Chief of Staff of the Polish Navy.The gelatin silver print on heavy glossy photo paper measures 8 x 6 in (20.32 x15.24 cm). Condition is very good, the image clean and crisp, the paper showing only light wear, primarily confined to the corners. The verso of the photograph is quite informative. An ink stamp at the lower right clearly states that this is a "BRITISH OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH" that was "ISSUED BY PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS AGENCIES LTD." to the left of the ink stamp is notation in pencil explaining how the image was stored in the archives: "file under the Poles not the PM". The balance of the verso is taken up by the original, quite extensive, original typed caption. This caption begins with an embargo date "FOR FIRST PUBLICATION DAILY PAPERS, WEDNESDAY, 3.11.43." The caption slip identifies this image as "BRITISH OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH NO. BH. 21738 (XP) (War Office Photograph. Crown Copyright Reserved). The caption is titled "POLISH NAVY MAKES PRESENTATION TO MR. CHURCHILL." The caption text reads: "To commemorate the fourth anniversary of the co-operation of the Royal Navy and the Polish Navy, a presentation was made to Mr. Churchill by representatives of the Polish Navy. The presentation took the form of a silver plaque showing three Polish destroyers steaming to meet H.M.S. Wallace off May Island on September 1st, 1939, and was made by Vice Admiral SWIRSKI, Chief of the Polish Navy. The Presentation took place at 10 Downing Street on November 2nd, 1943. A similar ceremony took place at the Admiralty, when a replica of the plaque was presented to Mr. A.V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty. Picture shows Right to left, the Prime Minister, Vice Admiral SWIRSKI (Chief of the Polish Navy), Capt. STOKLASA (Polish Navy Attache) and Commander KODREBSKI (Chief of Staff, Polish Navy). (Picture issued November, 1943)". The embargo date is restated at the end of the caption: "FOR FIRST PUBLICATION DAILY PAPERS, WEDNESDAY, 3.11.43." This press photo once belonged toa newspapers working archive. During the first half of the twentieth century, photojournalism grew as a practice, fundamentally changing the way the public interacted with current events.Newspapers assembled expansive archives, including physical copies of all photographs published or deemed useful for potential future use, their versos typically marked with ink stamps and notes providing provenance and captions. Photo departments would often take brush, paint, pencil, and marker to the surface of photographs themselves to edit them before publication. Today these photographs exist as repositories of historical memory, technological artifacts, and often striking pieces of vernacular art.
This original Second World War U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph captures Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Harry S. Truman, accompanied by an entourage including Soviet Ambassador to the United States Andrei Gromyko, U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes, and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, during Truman's visit at Premier Stalin's residence during the Potsdam Conference on 18 July 1945. The gelatin silver print on matte photo paper measures 10 x 8.25 inches (25.4 x 21 cm). Condition is very good. The image is crisp and clean with only a hint of wear to the corners and minor scratches visible only under raking light. The image's lower right features the circular emblem of "SIGNAL CORPS U.S. Army" embedded in the negative, as well as an image identification number ("209368"). The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading "U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.Following Germanys unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, the three allied leaders, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the new U.S. President Harry Truman, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, agreed to a summer meeting to negotiate postwar reconstruction in Europe. The conference was held in Potsdam, in occupied Germany, from 17 July to 2 August 1945. We believe this image to have been captured during Trumans 18 July 1945 visit to Stalins residence during the opening days of the conference. The location is in front of Stalin's residence.The tensions that beset the conference were both myriad and not severable. Certainly not least among the many was the atomic bomb. Before the conferences end Truman officially told Stalin about the existence of the Atomic Bomb. Stalin, who had spies inside the Manhattan Project and was fully informed, feigned surprise. Of related significance was the matter of whether "unconditional surrender" would be demanded of Japan. The conference concluded with the issuing of the Potsdam Declaration which demanded that Japan surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction". The conference was further complicated by the timing of British politics. The conference - the last of the "Big Three" meetings during the Second World War - coincided with the British General Election of 1945. Having done so much to win the war, Churchill faced frustration of his postwar plans when his wartime government fell to Labour in the General Election held during the conference. On 26 July 1945, only days after this photo was taken, Churchill was replaced as Prime Minister by Clement Attlee, who represented Britain for the rest of the conference.Churchill would be relegated to Leader of the Opposition for more than six years until the October 1951 General Election, when Churchills Conservatives outpaced Labour, returning Churchill to 10 Downing Street for his second and final premiership. By the time Churchill returned to 10 Downing Street, the always uneasy and fraught relations with Stalin had devolved to the open contest of the Cold War. Stalin would die as Soviet Premier on 5 March 1953. Trumans Presidency, bookended by Churchills two premierships, ended on 20 January 1953.
This is the handsome Easton Press edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom, bound in full dark red leather. Condition is flawlessly as-new, untouched, still sealed in the publishers shrinkwrap. Easton Press publications are sought for their high production values. Standard to all volumes are full leather binding, gilt lettering and decoration, all edges gilt, satin ribbon page markers, acid neutral paper, sewn pages, and endsheets of moire fabric. This edition publishes the text of the famous 1926 "Subscribers Edition". Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the story of T. E. Lawrence's (1888-1935) remarkable odyssey as instigator, organizer, hero, and tragic figure of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, which he began as an eccentric junior intelligence officer and ended as "Lawrence of Arabia." This time defined Lawrence with indelible experience and celebrity which he would spend the rest of his famously short life struggling to reconcile and reject, to recount and repress. Lawrence famously resisted publication of his magnum opus for the general public during his lifetime. The saga is remarkable. He nearly completed a massive first draft in 1919, only to famously lose it when his briefcase was mislaid at a train station. This first draft was never recovered. At a fever pitch, Lawrence wrote a new 400,000 word draft in 1920. This punishing burst of writing was followed by an equally brutal process of editing. In 1922, a 335,000 word version was carefully circulated to select friends and literary critics - the famous "Oxford Text". George Bernard Shaw called it "a masterpiece". Nonetheless, Lawrence was unready to see it distributed to the public. Finally, in 1926, a further edited 250,000 word "Subscribers' Edition" was produced by Lawrence - but fewer than 200 copies were made, each lavishly and uniquely bound. The process cost Lawrence far more than he made in subscriptions. To recover the loss, Lawrence finally authorized an edition for the general public - but one even further abridged and entitled "Revolt in the Desert". It was only in the summer of 1935, in the weeks following Lawrence's death, that the text of the Subscribers' Edition was finally published for circulation to the general public in the form of a British first trade edition. Winston Churchill was among Lawrence's original subscribers to the 1926 edition, though Lawrence refused to allow Churchill to pay for his copy, as a token for his esteem for the work he and Churchill had done together in the Colonial Office after the First World War. Of this text, Winston Churchill wrote: "It ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language. If Lawrence had never done anything except write this book as a mere work of the imagination his fame would last. But it is fact, not fiction. An epic, a prodigy, a tale of torment, and in the heart of it - A Man." Reference: O'Brien A065C
This is an original Second World War Official U. S. Navy photograph of President Harry S. Truman at the White House on 6 September 1945 being presented with the signed Japanese Instrument of Surrender, accompanied in the image by Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army George C. Marshall, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal.The gelatin silver print measures 10.25 x 8 inches (26 x 20.3 cm). Condition is very good plus, the paper complete and the image clean, with no appreciable fading, toning, or scuffing. The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading "OFFICIAL U. S. NAVY PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". Above and to the right of the ink stamp, written in pencil, is "Forrestal, Stimson Marshall & Truman". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.After the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12 April 1945, it fell to his Vice President, Harry S. Truman, to lead the United States through the end of the Second World War, including the decision to detonate atomic bombs over the Japanese Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, compelling the Japanese Empire to accept the inevitability of defeat and the necessity of unconditional surrender.On 2 September 1945, the Instrument of Surrender was signed by the Japanese aboard the USS Missouri the last battleship ever built by the United States in Tokyo Bay. Prepared by the War Department and approved by President Harry S. Truman, the Instrument of Surrender set out in eight short paragraphs the complete capitulation of Japan. The opening words, "We acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese Government, and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, hereby accept " signified the importance attached to the Emperors role and the necessity of acceptance by both civil and military authority by the Americans who drafted the document. The second short paragraph made the unequivocal nature of the capitulation clear: "We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control wherever situated." Japanese envoys Foreign Minster Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu signed their names. The time was recorded as 4 minutes past 9 oclock. Thereafter, General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, also signed. He accepted the Japanese Surrender "for the United States, Republic of China, United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and in the interests of the other United Nations at war with Japan."On 6 September, Army Colonel Bernard Thielen brought the surrender document and a second imperial rescript back to Washington, D.C. The following day, Thielen presented the documents to President Truman in a formal White House ceremony. In this image, Truman looks down on the Instrument. Accompanying President Truman, visible, left to right, are Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army George C. Marshall. The documents were then exhibited at the National Archives before being formally received into the National Archives holdings.
This is a British first edition, twelfth printing. Condition is very good. The binding is tight, clean, and unfaded, though with a modest forward lean and only light wear to extremities. The contents are crisp and clean, with no spotting and no discernible age toning apart from transfer browning to the endpapers from the pastedown glue. Even the text block edges are notably bright. The sole previous ownership mark is a contemporary name, British Columbia address, and date of "Nov. 2nd, 1936" inked on the front free endpaper recto. The Big Four, first published in the UK and the US in 1927, consists of a set of 12 loosely connected short stories. It followed the huge critical success of the previous year's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. At the beginning of the story, Hercule Poirot is visited at his home by a man "coated from head to foot with dust and mud". The man initially can only repeat Poirot's address, and draws the number 4 "a dozen times, each one bigger than the last". He eventually speaks about an international crime syndicate, and then swiftly dies. Poirot is swept up into the pursuit of the titular Big Four.Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best-selling novelist of all time, most well known for her works of mystery featuring detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Born to a wealthy family in Devon, Agatha Christie spent her happy childhood within the pages of books, having taught herself to read at an early age. Following her fathers death she was sent to a finishing school in Paris. Upon her return to England in 1910 she found her mother ill so they set off to the warmer climate of Cairo for her recovery. This first experience in Egypt was a formative one for the future writer; archaeology, Egyptology, and the Middle East would serve as settings for many of her most famous works. Though Christie was writing through the 1910s and had a number of short stories published under pseudonyms, it would be a decade before her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published.Agatha Christie was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956 in honor of her contribution to British literature. Today Christies titles have sold over two billion copies, placing her behind only Shakespeare and the Bible in sales. Her play The Mousetrap has the longest continual initial run of any play, having been performed continuously in Londons West End since its opening in 1952.
This is an original Second World War Official U. S. Navy photograph of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, being abandoned during the afternoon of 8 May 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea. In the image sailors slide down ropes on Lexingtons starboard quarter while a destroyer pulls up alongside Lexington to rescue crewmembers. She was the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier lost in the Second World War. The gelatin silver print measures 10 x 8.125 inches (25.4 x 20.6 cm). Condition is very good plus, the paper complete and the image clean, with no appreciable fading, toning, or scuffing. Trivial wear appears confined to the edges and within the white border margins. Inked in blue in the lower white margin center is the word "Lexington". The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading "OFFICIAL U. S. NAVY PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". Above and to the right of the ink stamp, written in pencil, is "USS Lexington being abandoned | only one man lost | no one lost". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.USSLexington(CV-2), one of the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carriers, was commissioned in December 1927 at Quincy, Massachusetts. Fatefully, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Lexington was transporting aircraft to Midway Island and thus spared destruction to the chagrin of the Japanese and the great fortune of the United States."During the December 11 attempt to relieve Wake Island, which was aborted, she was sent to attack Japanese installations in the Marshall Islands as a diversion. In January and February 1942, her aircraft raided Japanese positions in the southwestern Pacific. Along with USS Yorktown (CV-5) in early May, she participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea. On May 7 and 8, her aircraft took part in the sinking of the Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho, and raided the aircraft carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. The Japanese responded with aircraft attacks, which hit Lexington with two torpedo and three aerial bombs." (National Museum of the U.S. Navy)After seven minutes under direct attack and six hours of valiant work by her crew to save the ship, Lexington was abandoned. Lexingtons Captain "realized that if he did not order engineers to evacuate, and the last remaining communications link cut out entirely, the men stationed there would remain at their posts until consumed by the flames. At 4 p.m. he ordered them to douse the engines, blow off the steam from the boilers, and evacuate to the flight deck. The excess steam rushed up the funnel with a throaty whoosh, the engines fell silent, the four big propellers came to rest, and the Lexington lay dead in the water the destroyers Anderson, Hammann, and Morris, and the cruisers Minneapolis and New Orleans, drew in close to the dying ship and awaited instructions . Every man aboard knew that the bombs and torpedoes on the hangar deck would reach a detonation point and blow Knotted lines were secured to the net railing along both sides of the ship Men began going down the lines Men stood in order lines behind each rope, and left their shoes in neat rows on the edge of the flight deck. They gave three cheers for the captain By six oclock, only a handful of men remained on the Lexington The captain and executive officer were the last to go " As the XO descended, "an explosion went up amidships, throwing flames and airplanes high into the air" and causing the captain to duck "under the edge of the flight deck to get cover from falling debris." At 6:30 PM, torpedo warheads and bombs on the hangar deck "went up in a vast, ripping explosion." The Lexington was ordered to be sunk, "both to prevent her falling into enemy hands and to eliminate the danger that she might serve as a signal beacon for enemy planes." The destroyer USS Phelps (DD-218), fired a spread of eight torpedoes from a range of 1500 yards and "At 7:52 p.m. the Lexington went down in a cloud of hissing steam." (Toll, Pacific Crucible)
This is a jacketed first printing of the first American edition. This example is very good plus in a very good dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is tight, clean, and unfaded, with sharp corners. The spine shows only mild wear to the ends and faint vertical creasing. The contents are crisp, bright, and clean with no spotting and no discernible age toning. The text block edges, including the untrimmed fore edges, are likewise exceptionally clean. The blue-stained top edges are lightly faded. The sole previous ownership mark is a contemporary name, British Columbia address, and date of "Jan. 6th. 1940" inked on the front free endpaper recto. The scarce dust jacket is clean and bright, despite light wear to extremities, flap folds, and joints, tiny loss to the spine ends and flap fold corners, and a three-inch closed tear to the lower front joint. The upper front flap is neatly price-clipped. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.From the dust jacket front flap: "Only one woman in this quiet English village scented murder. "It's very easy to kill," she told Luke Fitzwilliam, "if no one suspects you." But before she could name the killer, she, too, was struck down. And Luke, just back from police duty in the Straits Settlements, found himself facing a new kind of menace. "Accidental death," the coroner called it, when Amy Gibbs drank poison by mistake, Harry Carter slipped off the footbridge, and Dr. Humbleby died of an infection. But Luke had been a policeman too long to accept such a gruesome array of coincidence without wondering. When his curiosity got the better of him, and he undertook a private investigation, he expected to turn up something; but before the case was closed, he had unearthed more than even his most extravagant suspicions had warranted."Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best-selling novelist of all time, most well known for her works of mystery featuring detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Born to a wealthy family in Devon, Agatha Christie spent her happy childhood within the pages of books, having taught herself to read at an early age. Following her fathers death she was sent to a finishing school in Paris. Upon her return to England in 1910 she found her mother ill so they set off to the warmer climate of Cairo for her recovery. This first experience in Egypt was a formative one for the future writer; archaeology, Egyptology, and the Middle East would serve as settings for many of her most famous works. Though Christie was writing through the 1910s and had a number of short stories published under pseudonyms, it would be a decade before her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published.Agatha Christie was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956 in honor of her contribution to British literature. Today Christies titles have sold over two billion copies, placing her behind only Shakespeare and the Bible in sales. Her play The Mousetrap has the longest continual initial run of any play, having been performed continuously in Londons West End since its opening in 1952.
This is an original Second World War British War Office photograph of Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill watching a flying demonstration on 19 October 1943 with Air Minister Sir Archibald Sinclair. Churchill, seated and holding a lit cigar in his right hand, looks out while listening to his Air Minister, also seated, who leans toward Churchill, gesturing. Standing behind Churchill are various unidentified military and civilian figures.The gelatin silver print on glossy photo paper measures 6 x 8 in (15.24 x 20.32 cm). Condition is very good, the image clean, clear, and unfaded with minimal wear confined to the corners. Minor image imperfections are embedded in the negative, not a result of wear. The verso of the photograph testifies to its origins. A purple ink stamp identifies the image as a "British Official Photograph Crown Copyright Reserved Supplied by BIPPA". A second, oval ink stamp states that this print was "RECEIVED" on "27 OCT 1943" by "The Daily Telegraph ART DEPARTMENT". The original, typed caption remains tipped onto the verso. The caption begins with an embargo notification: "NOT TO BE PUBLISHED BEFORE THE EVENING PAPERS, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19th." The photograph is identified as "BRITISH OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH NO. BH 21518 (WP) (War Office photograph: Crown Copyright reserved)." The caption is titled "MR CHURCHILL WATCHES FLYING DEMONSTRATION" and reads "Mr. Churchill watched a flying display by different types of aircraft at an aerodrome in Southern England recently. PHOTO SHOWS:- Mr. Churchill watching the flying demonstration with Sir Archibald Sinclair, Air Minister. (Picture issued October 1943). PN". The caption slip concludes by repeating the embargo "NOT TO BE PUBLISHED BEFORE THE EVENING PAPERS, TUESDAY OCTOBER 19th." When Churchill ascended to the premiership in 1940, he and Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, first Viscount Thurso (1890-1970) already had a long, established friendship. Their friendship had formed when "Sinclairin his early twenties was turning towards politics and ready to trust in an older man as his guiding star;Churchillin his late thirties was already a curiously paternal figure delighted to discover a young disciple. The letters which he andSinclairexchanged during the First World War are remarkable on both sides for their expression of private feeling, and read like those of a mutually devoted father and son.Sinclaircould write toChurchillin April 1916 of 'my keen longing to serve you in politicsmore humbly but more energetically than I have been able to in war'" (ODNB and Gilbert, 1494). When Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940, he appointed Sinclair Secretary of State for Air, a post Sinclair retained until May 1945.This press photo once belonged tothe working archive of The Daily Telegraph. During the first half of the twentieth century, photojournalism grew as a practice, fundamentally changing the way the public interacted with current events.Newspapers assembled expansive archives, including physical copies of all photographs published or deemed useful for potential future use, their versos typically marked with ink stamps and notes providing provenance and captions. Photo departments would often take brush, paint, pencil, and marker to the surface of photographs themselves to edit them before publication. Today these photographs exist as repositories of historical memory, technological artifacts, and often striking pieces of vernacular art.
This is an original Second World War Official U. S. Navy photograph of the flagship of the United States fleet, USS Pennsylvania, on the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.The gelatin silver print measures 10 x 8.125 inches (25.4 x 20.6 cm). Condition is very good plus, the paper complete and the image clean, with no appreciable fading, toning, or scuffing. Trivial wear appears confined to the edges and within the white border margins. The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading "OFFICIAL U. S. NAVY PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS". Above and to the right of the ink stamp, written in pencil, is "Battleship Pennsylvania | Destroyers Cassin & Downes | Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941". The image is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), was the lead ship of the Pennsylvania class of super-dreadnought battleships. She was built at Newport News, Virginia and commissioned in June 1916. During the 1920s and 1930s,Pennsylvaniaserved as the flagshipof first the Atlantic Fleet, and after it was merged with the Pacific Fleetin 1921, the Battle Fleet.When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Pennsylvania was serving as the flagship of the United States fleet. On the day the Japanese attacked, Pennsylvania was dry-docked in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, away from her fellow battleships. "Though her place in drydock kept her safe from torpedoes,Pennsylvaniadid suffer a bomb strike that killed the crew manning a 5" gun mount. Fighters strafed the battleship, but the bulk of her damage came from flying debris from the nearby destroyers,USSCassin(DD-372) and USSDownes(DD-375)." Both of these unfortunate destroyers are visible in the foreground of this photograph. "Part ofDownes, a 1,000-lb torpedo tube, struckPennsylvaniasforecastle." That night, in the aftermath of the Japanese attack, tragedy was compounded when Pennsylvanias crew fired on six Wildcat fighter aircraft returning from the USS Enterprise to the naval air station of Ford Island. Only one of the planes managed to land without injury to the pilot or aircraft. Pennsylvanias relatively light damage from the Pearl Harbor attack was repaired in the next few months and Pennsylvania saw active service throughout the war. Her luck finally ran out in the final days of the war when she was seriously damaged by a Japanese aerial torpedo off Okinawa on 12 August 1945, the last major Navy ship to be hit during the Second World War.After the war, she was repaired sufficiently to be "used as a target ship for the atomic bomb tests of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll. She was decommissioned in August 1946 and, in February 1948, sunk just off Kwajalein.
This is a jacketed copy of the first state of the first American edition. Per OBrien (A247), the binding and dust jacket are both identical to those of the first English edition, featuring the English publishers name "Blackwell" on the jacket and binding spines. The sheets are also from the British publisher, the first state of the American edition denoted by the title page (featuring the name of the U.S. publisher, "The Macmillan Company") being "tipped onto a stub of original English edition title page."Condition is near fine in a very good plus dust jacket. The navy cloth binding is unfaded, clean, square, and tight with sharp corners and bright spine gilt. We note only a few trivial blemishes and a touch of wrinkling at the spine ends. The contents are likewise clean with no previous ownership marks. A hint of spotting appears confined to the endpapers and page edges, which also show mild age-toning. Apart from a neatly price-clipped lower front flap (consonant with the English dust jacket being applied to an American first edition), the jacket is complete. The spine shows mild toning with short closed tears at the upper and lower rear joint and the upper rear flap fold and very light overall soiling. The jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.This collection of letters, edited by Lawrences brother, supplements the David Garnett collection (The Letters of T. E. Lawrence of Arabia) of 1938. "The letters included here for the most part cover his early years; fully two thirds of those included are from before the [First World] war The letters of his brothers Frank and Will, both of whom died in the First World War, are also included. The whole reflects what was a truly remarkable family. This collection is a primary source for the pre-war correspondence of Lawrence." (OBrien)This book is notable to Churchill collectors for featuring two contributions from Winston S. Churchill - a one-page introduction from then Prime Minister Churchill dated 4 March 1954 on 10 Downing Street stationery and the four-page address given by Churchill in 1936 when he unveiled Lawrence's Memorial at Oxford. Of the address, Churchill states: "Mrs. Lawrence has sought my permission to print, as an introduction to the Home Letters of the most famous of her sons, the words which I spoke when I unveiled his Memorial at his old school in Oxford in 1936; and I readily give my consent. Eighteen years have passed since those words were spoken, but now, pondering them again, I find not one to alter. The vast perils and catastrophes of the years between have not dimmed the splendour of his fame, nor blurred the impress of his personality upon the memory of his friends. T.E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill were distinctly different in temperament, character, and the ways in which their respective brilliance shaped their time and legacy. Nonetheless, they developed a genuine and mutual affection, loyalty, and respect. After the first World War, Britain played a key role in shaping what was to become the political landscape of the modern Middle East. In 1920, Prime Minister David Lloyd George entrusted this responsibility to the brilliant, volatile, and ambitious Winston Churchill (partly at the private recommendation of T.E. Lawrence). Churchill immediately pressed Lawrence to become his political adviser and emissary to the Arabs. An initially reluctant Lawrence accepted. The resulting collaboration did much to shape the Middle East as we know it today. When Lawrence died, Churchill was among those at the small ceremony and was reportedly moved to tears. Reference: O'Brien A247, Cohen B145.2.a
Boats for the R.A.F. is the publishers second volume about Lawrence's service life, bringing together reports and correspondence about his work helping develop high-speed motor boats. The volume is a companion to 'The Mint' and Later Writings About Service Life. Much of its content is previously unpublished. This exceptional, limited edition was published by Castle Hill Press, the premier editors and fine press publishers of material by and about T. E. Lawrence, founded by Lawrences official biographer, Jeremy Wilson (1944-2017)Of a total edition of 227 copies bound variously in full goatskin, quarter goatskin, or cloth, this is copy number 131, one of 150 bound thus. This copy features oatmeal-colored quarter linen cloth spine over gray, paper-covered boards and gilt-ruled and printed brown Morocco goatskin spine label. The contents are bound with blue, illustrated endpapers, fold-out illustrations, and head and foot bands. The limitation statement is hand-numbered and the editor's introduction is hand-signed by Jeremy Wilson. The book is housed in the publishers matching oatmeal linen cloth slipcase. Condition is pristine, as new. We acquired this volume new from the publisher and both the slipcase and volume within remain thus. Lawrences literary and intellectual reach far exceeded the world and words ofSeven Pillars of Wisdom. To the point, Lawrences friend and admirer Winston Churchill said:"Lawrence had a full measure of the versatility of genius He was a savant as well as a soldier.He was an archaeologist as well as a man of action.He was an accomplished scholar as well as an Arab partisan. He was a mechanic as well as a philosopher.His background of somber experience and reflection only seemed to set forth more brightly the charm and gaiety of his companionship, and the generous majesty of his nature."(Great Contemporaries, p. 139) Consonant with his versatile genius, Lawrences published works span crusader castles and ancient Greek translation to technical manuals on high speed boats. This volume contains the letters and reports relating to Lawrence's work on RAF boats between 1931 and 1935.In a state of nervous exhaustion following the First World War, his work on the post-war settlement, and writing and re-writing Seven Pillars of Wisdom, in 1922, Lawrence enlisted in the ranks of the R.A.F. under the name of John Hume Ross. In January 1923 his identity became public and he was discharged from the R.A.F., but allowed to re-enlist two and a half years later, this time using the surname "Shaw", under which he had meanwhile served in the Tank Corps. He remained in the R.A.F. until 1935.From the spring of 1931 until the end of his R.A.F. enlistment in February 1935, Lawrence was part of a small team that developed and perfected the new types of RAF boat. He worked on seaplane tenders and armoured target boats, general-purpose workboats, refueling dinghies, bomb-loading dinghies and experimental craft. This account from Castle Hill Press, the premier editors and fine press publishers of material by and about T. E. Lawrence, is by far the most detailed yet published.
