By Winston S. Churchill
First published between 1956 and 1958 by Cassell and Company Ltd., London
"I write about the things in our past that appear significant to me, and I do so(Preface to Volume I of A History of the English-Speaking Peoples)
as one not without some experience of historical and violent events in our own time.
I use the term 'English-speaking peoples' because there is no other
that applies both to the inhabitants of the British Isles and to those independent nations
who derive their beginnings, their speech, and many of their institutions from England,
and who now preserve, nourish, and develop them in their own ways."
Churchill's four volume epic, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, was published between 1956 and 1958. The work traces a sweeping historical arc from Roman Britain through the end of the Nineteenth Century. Volumes I & II deal primarily with Britain and her rise to become a world power, including early colonization of North America. Volume III necessarily broadens in scope, covering 1668 to 1815, including the American Revolution and the defeat of Napoleon. Volume IV covers 85 years of the Nineteenth Century, ending with the death of Queen Victoria. Perhaps not conincidentally, this is the very year that saw Churchill conclude his first North American lecture tour, take his first seat in Parliament, and begin to make history himself.
The work itself was two decades in the making. The Churchillian conceptions that underpinnned it were lifelong.
Churchill began A History of the English-Speaking Peoples in the 1930s, completing a draft of "about half a million words" which was set aside when Churchill returned to the Admiralty and to war in September 1939. The work was fittingly interrupted by an unprecedented alliance among the English-speaking peoples during the Second World War - an alliance Churchill personally did much to cultivate, cement, and sustain. The interruption continued as Churchill bent his literary efforts to his six-volume history, The Second World War, and then his remaining political energies to his second and final premiership from 1951-1955.
The cultural commonality and vitality of English-speaking peoples animated Churchill throughout his life, from his Victorian youth in an ascendant British Empire to his twilight in the midst of the American century. Churchill, the child of an American mother and decended from British nobility on his father's side, paid particular heed to the 'special relationship' between Britain and the United States. Perhaps to some extent he regarded himself as a personification of that relationship. When Churchill first addressed the U.S. Congress on 26 December 1941 he famously quipped, "I cannot help reflecting that if my father had been American and my mother British, instead of the other way around, I might have got here on my own."
Among the English-speaking peoples, Churchill considered Britain and the Unitied states in particular "united by other ties besides those of State policy and public need." During his wartime speech at Harvard, among the "ties of blood and history" Churchill cited were, "Law, language, literature - these are considerable factors. Common conceptions of what is right and decent, a marked regard for fair play, especially to the weak and poor, a stern sentiment of impartial justice, and above all the love of personal freedom, or as Kipling put it: 'Leave to live by no man's leave underneath the law' - these are common conceptions on both sides of the ocean among the English-speaking peoples" (6 September 1943 speech at Harvard University).
The reinforcement and constructive application of these common conceptions - upon which so much of 20th Century history hinged - would continue to the very end of Churchill's life and career. Indeed, Churchill's aspirations and anxieties about this 'special relationship' are encapsulated in the title of his last published book of speeches in 1961, The Unwritten Alliance.
Uniquely in the Churchill canon, the British, U.S. and Canadian first editions of A History of the English-Speaking Peoples were published simultaneously. Volume I was published on 23 April 1956. The fourth and final volume was published on 17 March 1958.
Initial reviews reflected the hagiography surrounding the "living national memorial" Churchill had become. Later critics were less kind, mostly centering on the charge that the work was not really history in the objective, academic sense. Clement Atlee - who replaced Churchill as premier in 1945 and who Churchill would in turn defeat in 1951 - concisely jabbed with the comment that the work might have been titled "Things in History Which Interested Me." Of course, Churchill himself says in his preface, "This book does not seek to rival the works of professional historians. It aims rather to present a personal view on the processes whereby English-speaking peoples throughout the world have achieved their distinctive position and character." Whatever the critics may say, the work was immensely popular and remains of interest to readers, judging by a robust number of successive reprints.
The British first edition is a particularly attractive production. Each tall volume is bound in uniform smooth, deep red cloth with gilt stamped spines and red topstain. The dust jackets are especially striking, uniform in style, but each featuring different background color and illustrations on the lower half of the faces and spines. Volume I features The Bayeaux Tapestry, Volume II The Woburn Abbey portrait of Elizabeth I and an early world map, Volume III Stanfield's Battle of Trafalgar and Trumbull's Declaration of Independence, Volume IV Winterhalter's Queen Victoria and the Royal Family and Healy's The Peacemakers, featuring Lincoln and his military commanders.
Churchill took an active and detailed interest in the aesthetics of the publication. He told his doctor, "it is not necessary to break the back of the book to keep it open. I made them take away a quarter of an inch from the outer margins of the two pages and then add the half-inch so gained to the inner margin." He was clearly satisfied with the result, remarking with pardonable exuberance, "It opens like an angel's wings" (Gilbert, Volume VIII, p.1184).
Unfortunately, as beautiful as the first editions are, they proved somewhat fragile. The dust jackets commonly suffer significant fading, wear, soiling, and spotting, and the books beneath typically bear spotting, as well as fading of the red-stained top edges.
Despite a massive first printing (130,000 for Volume I and 150,000 each for Volumes II-IV), each volume of the British first edition saw numerous subsequent printings. Jacketed first edition copies are not scarce. However, near-fine or better jacketed first printing sets have become quite uncommon and desirable.
The simultaneous four-volume U.S. first edition is certainly less stately in appearance, though in our opinion perhaps excessively maligned as being an unattractive edition.
The U.S. first editions are bound in smooth, quarter black cloth over grey, coarser cloth boards with head and foot bands and red-stained top edges. The spines are decorated with red panels, numerous gilt rules, and gilt print. The front covers feature a gilt stamped facsimile of Churchill's signature. The dust jackets are bound in a uniform style with a horizontal band of color across the front face and spine against a contrasting color, but each jacket features a different color scheme and front cover photograph portrait of Churchill on the lower front face.
Two problems plague collectors seeking the U.S. first edition. First is the usual collector's conundrum - that they are scarce in collectible condition. The jacket spines - particularly Volume I - sunned easily and the binding spines seem inconsistent in quality and not particularly durable. This inconsistency doubtless owes in part to the fact observed by Richard Langworth that "Some first editions were printed on much thinner paper to meet demand; invariably, these are found with very dark red, that is, maroon, spine panels instead of the normal bright red. Easily spotted because of their thinner bulk, these are nevertheless true first editions" (Langworth, p.319). In our experience collector-worthy U.S. first edition sets are considerably more scarce than their British counterparts, particularly sets with true red spine panels printed on thicker paper.
The second problem is the fact that the U.S. first edition is very similar in appearance to the concurrent Book-of-the-Month Club (BOMC) edition. First printings of the first edition should generally be distinguished by $6.00 prices on the dust jacket flaps, the words "FIRST EDITION" on the copyright page, head and foot bands, and red-stained top edges.
Of particular note, a small number of U.S. first editions were produced bearing the words "PRESENTATION EDITION. NOT FOR SALE" on the copyright page of each volume. In all other respects such copies are identical to normal U.S. first editions, including the $6.00 price on the dust jacket flap. We have encountered a very few such copies with a plain white business card laid in printed black in two lines, "With Compliments of / Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc." Presentation copies of the U.S. first edition are rare; a full, four-volume set thus, doubly so.
Canadian first edition volumes were issued simultaneously with their British and U.S. counterparts, but from American first edition plates. Appearance is quite similar, with the same spine design as the U.S. first edition over navy cloth boards. The same head and foot bands are present, but the top edges are unstained. The Canadian publisher's name - McClelland & Stewart - is substituted on the lower jacket and volume spine and on the title page. However, collectors should note that there are no prices on the Canadian dust jacket flaps and no indication of first edition on the title page verso.
As with the U.S. first edition, there was also a Canadian Book-of-the-Month Club issue similar in style to the Canadian first edition, but bound instead in red cloth with blue spine panels and no head and foot bands.
As with the U.S. first edition, there was also a limited production of 350 publisher's presentation copies. In the case of the Canadian editions, these are delineated by an extra leaf before the title page printed, "with the best wishes and compliments of the season from myself and my associates" and hand-signed by John McClelland.
This final of Churchill's great, multi-volume works spawned many single-volume spinoffs in the form of excerpted works that have become collectible in their own right. These include The American Civil War (1961), The Island Race (1964), Heroes of History (1968), and Joan of Arc (1969).
© 2014 Churchill Book Collector. All rights reserved.
"Winston S. Churchill, ""Mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 1950 na 1950"" na Cassell & Co Ltd, London, alitoa maelezo ya kihistoria ya historia ya Uingereza na Uingereza, na pia alitoa maelezo ya kihistoria ya Uingereza na Uingereza, na pia alitoa maelezo ya kihistoria ya Uingereza na Uingereza." "Ninatumia neno ""watu wanaozungumza Kiingereza"" kwa sababu hakuna neno lingine linalofaa kwa wakazi wa Visiwa vya Uingereza na mataifa hayo huru ambayo yanatokana na mwanzo wao, lugha yao, na taasisi zao nyingi kutoka Uingereza, na ambao sasa huhifadhi, kulisha, na kuendeleza kwa njia zao wenyewe." Kitabu cha Churchill A History of the English-Speaking Peoples kilichapishwa mwaka wa 1956 hadi 1958. Kazi hiyo inaonyesha historia ya Uingereza ya Roma hadi mwishoni mwa karne ya kumi na tisa. Buku la I na la II linazungumzia hasa Uingereza na kuongezeka kwake kuwa nguvu ya ulimwengu, kutia ndani ukoloni wa mapema wa Amerika Kaskazini. Kitabu cha tatu kina habari nyingi kuhusu kipindi cha kati ya mwaka 1668 na 1815, yaani, wakati wa Mapinduzi ya Marekani na ushindi wa Napoleon. Kitabu cha kwanza kinazungumzia miaka 85 ya karne ya 19 na mwisho wake ni kifo cha Malkia Victoria. Mwaka huo huo, Churchill alimaliza ziara yake ya kwanza ya Amerika Kaskazini, akachukua kiti chake cha kwanza katika Bunge, na kuanza kufanya historia mwenyewe. Kazi yenyewe ilichukuliwa kwa miongo miwili. Mawazo ya Churchill yaliyokuwa msingi wake yaliendelea maisha yake yote. Churchill alianza kitabu chake cha Historia ya Watu wanaozungumza Kiingereza katika miaka ya 1930, akimaliza rasimu ya "karibu maneno nusu milioni" ambayo iliwekwa kando wakati Churchill aliporudi Admiralty na vita mnamo Septemba 1939. Kazi hiyo ilikatizwa kwa kufaa na muungano usio na kifani kati ya watu wanaozungumza Kiingereza wakati wa Vita vya Pili vya Ulimwengu - muungano ambao Churchill mwenyewe alifanya mengi ili kukuza, kuimarisha, na kudumisha. Churchill aliendelea na kazi yake ya fasihi kwa historia yake ya mabuku sita, Vita vya Pili vya Ulimwengu, na kisha nishati zake za kisiasa zilizobaki kwa urais wake wa pili na wa mwisho kutoka 1951 hadi 1955. Utamaduni wa watu wanaozungumza Kiingereza ulimchochea Churchill maisha yake yote, kuanzia ujana wake wa Victoria katika Milki ya Uingereza iliyokuwa ikiongezeka hadi mwisho wa maisha yake katikati ya karne ya Amerika. Churchill, mtoto wa mama wa Marekani na aliyetokana na ukoo wa kifalme wa Uingereza kwa upande wa baba yake, alitoa uangalifu maalum kwa 'uhusiano wa pekee' kati ya Uingereza na Marekani. Labda kwa kadiri fulani alijiona kuwa kielelezo cha uhusiano huo. "Wakati Churchill alipozungumza kwa mara ya kwanza katika Bunge la Marekani mnamo Desemba 26, 1941, alisema: ""Sinaweza kujizuia kufikiria kwamba kama baba yangu angekuwa Mmarekani na mama yangu Mwingereza, badala ya kinyume chake, ningeweza kufika hapa peke yangu.""" Kati ya watu wanaozungumza Kiingereza, Churchill aliona Uingereza na hasa majimbo ya Umoja wa Mataifa kuwa "yameunganishwa na vifungo vingine mbali na zile za sera ya Serikali na uhitaji wa umma". "Katika hotuba yake ya wakati wa vita katika Chuo Kikuu cha Harvard, Churchill alitaja ""masharti ya damu na historia"" kama ""sheria, lugha, fasihi - haya ni mambo muhimu.""" "Maoni ya kawaida ya kile kilicho sawa na cha adili, heshima ya wazi kwa mchezo wa haki, hasa kwa dhaifu na maskini, hisia kali ya haki isiyo na upendeleo, na juu ya yote upendo wa uhuru wa kibinafsi, au kama Kipling alivyosema: ""Usiache kuishi kwa ruhusa ya mtu yeyote chini ya sheria"" - haya ni maoni ya kawaida pande zote mbili za bahari kati ya watu wanaozungumza Kiingereza." Kuimarisha na matumizi ya kujenga ya dhana hizi za kawaida - ambazo historia ya karne ya 20 ilitegemea - ingeendelea hadi mwisho wa maisha na kazi ya Churchill. "Kwa kweli, matarajio na wasiwasi wa Churchill kuhusu ""uhusiano huu wa pekee"" umefunikwa katika kichwa cha kitabu chake cha mwisho cha hotuba kilichochapishwa mnamo 1961: ""Ushirika usioandikwa.""" "Kwa mfano, katika kitabu cha Churchill, ""A History of the English-Speaking Peoples"" cha Uingereza, Marekani na Kanada kilichapishwa wakati uleule." Kitabu cha kwanza kilichapishwa tarehe 23 Aprili 1956. Buku la nne na la mwisho lilichapishwa tarehe 17 Machi 1958. Maelezo ya awali yalionyesha hagiography inayozunguka "kumbukumbu ya kitaifa inayoishi" Churchill alikuwa amekuwa. Wakosoaji wa baadaye hawakuwa wenye fadhili sana, wakihusisha hasa mashtaka ya kwamba kazi hiyo haikuwa historia kwa maana ya kihalisi, ya kitaaluma. "Clement Atlee, ambaye alibadilisha Churchill kuwa waziri mkuu mwaka 1945 na ambaye Churchill alishinda mwaka 1951, alishutumu kwa ufupi kwamba kitabu hicho kingeweza kuwa na kichwa ""Mambo katika Historia ambayo Yalinivutia.""" "Churchill mwenyewe alisema katika utangulizi wake, ""Kitabu hiki hakitafuti kushindana na kazi za wanahistoria wa kitaaluma." Badala yake, lengo lake ni kutoa maoni ya kibinafsi juu ya taratibu ambazo watu wanaozungumza Kiingereza ulimwenguni pote wamepata cheo na tabia yao ya kipekee". Hata wakosoaji waseme nini, kitabu hicho kilipendwa sana na bado kinapendezwa na wasomaji, ikilinganishwa na idadi kubwa ya matoleo yaliyochapishwa tena. Toleo la kwanza la Uingereza ni uzalishaji wenye kuvutia hasa. Kila kitabu kirefu kimefungwa kwa kitambaa laini, chenye rangi nyekundu yenye miiba iliyotiwa nembo ya dhahabu na rangi nyekundu. Vipande vya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi ya mavazi. "Kutoka kwa kitabu cha ""The Bayeux Tapestry"" na ""The Woburn Abbey Portrait of Elizabeth I and an Early World Map"" hadi kitabu cha ""The Battle of Trafalgar and the Declaration of Independence"" na ""The Peacemakers"" na ""The Peacemakers"" na ""The Peacemakers"" na ""The Peacemakers"" na ""The Peacemakers"" na ""The Peacemakers.""" Churchill alipendezwa sana na urembo wa kichapo hicho. "Mwanamume huyo alimwambia daktari wake hivi: ""Si lazima kuvunja sehemu ya nyuma ya kitabu ili kiwe wazi." "Niliwafanya waondoe robo ya inchi kutoka kwa kingo za nje za kurasa mbili na kisha kuongeza nusu ya inchi iliyoongezwa kwa njia hiyo kwenye kingo ya ndani. """ "Alipata matokeo mazuri, akisema kwa furaha: ""Inafunguka kama mabawa ya malaika"" (Gilbert, Volume VIII, p. 1184)." Kwa kusikitisha, ingawa matoleo ya kwanza yalikuwa mazuri, yalithibitika kuwa dhaifu. Kwa kawaida, vifuniko vya vumbi hufifia, huvaa, huchafuka, na kuonekana, na vitabu vilivyo chini ya vifuniko hivyo hufifia, na vilevile kufifia kwa kingo za juu zilizo na madoa mekundu. Ingawa toleo la kwanza lilichapishwa kwa wingi (130,000 kwa Buku la Kwanza na 150,000 kwa Toleo la Pili na la Nne), toleo la kwanza la Uingereza lilichapishwa mara nyingi zaidi. Machapisho ya kwanza yaliyofunikwa kwa jalada si machache. Hata hivyo, seti za uchapishaji wa kwanza zilizo karibu na nzuri au zilizo na kifuniko bora zimekuwa nadra sana na zinatamaniwa. Toleo la kwanza la Marekani la mabuku manne la wakati huo huo kwa hakika halina sura ya kifahari sana, ingawa kwa maoni yetu labda limedharauliwa kupita kiasi kuwa toleo lisilo la kuvutia. Toleo la kwanza la Marekani limefungwa kwa kitambaa laini, cha rangi nyeusi juu ya mbao za kitambaa cha kijivu, cha kijivu na vifungo vya kichwa na miguu na kingo za juu zilizo na rangi nyekundu. Miiba hiyo imepambwa kwa paneli nyekundu, sheria nyingi za dhahabu, na uchapishaji wa dhahabu. Jalada la mbele lina nakala ya sahihi ya Churchill iliyotiwa muhuri wa dhahabu. Mavazi ya nguo ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi ya rangi. Matatizo mawili yanawaogopesha wakusanyaji wanaotafuta toleo la kwanza la Marekani. Kwanza ni tatizo la kawaida la mkusanyaji - kwamba ni nadra katika hali ya kukusanya. Madoa ya koti - hasa Buku la I - huchomwa jua kwa urahisi na madoa ya kuunganisha yanaonekana kuwa ya ubora usio sawa na si ya kudumu. "Hii ni kwa sababu ya ukweli wa Richard Langworth kwamba ""Machapisho ya kwanza yalichapishwa kwenye karatasi nyembamba zaidi ili kukidhi mahitaji; mara nyingi, hizi hupatikana na rangi nyekundu sana, ambayo ni, maroon, paneli za mgongo badala ya kawaida nyekundu.""" "Hizi ni bado kweli matoleo ya kwanza"" (Langworth, p.319)." Katika uzoefu wetu, seti za toleo la kwanza la Marekani zinazostahili kukusanywa ni nadra sana kuliko wenzao wa Uingereza, haswa seti na paneli za mgongo wa kweli nyekundu zilizochapishwa kwenye karatasi nzito. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, toleo la kwanza la kitabu cha ""Mwezi"" ni sawa na toleo la ""Mwezi"" la ""Klabu ya Kitabu cha Mwezi"" (BOMC)." "Kichapo cha kwanza cha toleo la kwanza kwa ujumla kinapaswa kutambuliwa kwa bei ya $ 6.00 kwenye flaps za koti la vumbi, maneno ""Toleo la Kwanza"" kwenye ukurasa wa hati miliki, bendi za kichwa na mguu, na kingo za juu zilizotiwa rangi nyekundu." "Kuna idadi ndogo ya matoleo ya kwanza ya Marekani yaliyokuwa na maneno ""PRESENTATION EDITION.""" NOT FOR SALE" kwenye ukurasa wa haki za uchapaji wa kila kitabu. Katika mambo mengine yote nakala hizo ni sawa na matoleo ya kawaida ya kwanza ya Marekani, ikiwa ni pamoja na bei ya $ 6.00 kwenye flap ya koti la vumbi. "Kama vile tulivyoona katika nakala za kwanza za toleo la kwanza la Marekani, nakala za toleo la kwanza la Marekani ni nadra sana; kwa hivyo, seti kamili ya mabuku manne ni mara mbili zaidi.""" Toleo la kwanza la Canada lilitolewa wakati huo huo na wenzao wa Uingereza na Marekani, lakini kutoka kwa sahani za toleo la kwanza la Amerika. Kwa upande wa kuonekana, ni sawa na ile ya toleo la kwanza la Marekani, na ina muundo wa mviringo. Vipande vya kichwa na miguu vilivyofanana vipo, lakini kingo za juu hazina madoa. Jina la mchapishaji wa Kanada - McClelland & Stewart - limebadilishwa kwenye koti la chini na uti wa mgongo wa kitabu hicho na kwenye ukurasa wa kichwa. Hata hivyo, wakusanyaji wanapaswa kutambua kwamba hakuna bei kwenye flaps ya koti la vumbi la Canada na hakuna dalili ya toleo la kwanza kwenye ukurasa wa kichwa nyuma. Kama ilivyo na toleo la kwanza la Marekani, kulikuwa na toleo la Canada la Book-of-the-Month Club, lakini lilitengenezwa kwa kitambaa nyekundu na paneli za bluu na hakuna vifungo vya kichwa na miguu. Kama ilivyo kwa toleo la kwanza la Marekani, kulikuwa na uzalishaji mdogo wa nakala 350 za maonyesho ya mchapishaji. Katika toleo la Canada, hizi ni delineated na ukurasa wa ziada kabla ya ukurasa wa kichwa kuchapishwa, "na matakwa bora na pongezi ya msimu kutoka kwangu na washirika wangu" na mkono saini na John McClelland. Kitabu hiki cha mwisho cha Churchill, kilicho na mabuku mengi, kilitokeza vitabu vingi vya kipande kimoja kwa namna ya vichapo vilivyochukuliwa ambavyo vimekuwa vya kukusanywa. "Mchoro huo ulichezwa katika filamu za ""The American Civil War"" (1961) na ""The Island Race"" (1964) na ""Heroes of History"" (1968) na ""Joan of Arc"" (1969)." 2014 Churchill Book Collector Haki zote zimehifadhiwa.