Marlborough: His Life and Times, a full set of six U.S. first edition, first printings in the rare first state dust jackets and slipcases

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933. First edition. Hardcover. Here is a full set of six U.S. first edition, first printings of Winston Churchill’s monumental biography of his great ancestor, John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough. This set features the quite scarce first state dust jackets and slipcases, and is the best we have encountered thus.

The U.S. publisher chose to split the first two volumes into two books each; the six-volume U.S. first edition is identical in content its four-volume British counterpart, but dramatically different in appearance. Moreover, there were two distinctly different states of the U.S. first edition. The first four U.S. volumes were originally issued in two-volume sets, with cream-colored dust jackets featuring green print, each two-volume set housed in an illustrated publisher’s slipcase. The fifth volume was originally issued in a white dust jacket with a red-printed design matching that of the two slipcases for volumes I & II and volumes III & IV. Only in 1938, when the sixth and final U.S. volume was published, were the more commonly seen blue and gold dust jackets issued. Today the first state dust jackets are quite scarce, and the fragile original slipcases doubly so.

This is a full, first state set comprising fine or near fine first printing volumes in very good plus or better dust jackets. All six volumes feature immaculate green cloth bindings and bright contents with no internal spotting or previous ownership marks. The first four volumes are virtually as-new, having been protected by both their original dust jackets and the slipcases. Only Volume V shows some dust soiling and spotting to the top edge. All six dust jackets are unclipped, retaining the original publisher’s prices where they appeared and complete, with no appreciable loss. The cream-colored dust jackets of the first four volumes all show mild, uniform spine toning as well as a few trivial blemishes. The edges, specifically the upper top edge of the Volume I & Volume IV front faces, show just a touch of scuffing and tiny closed tears, almost certainly from the jackets catching on the edges of their slipcases. The rear face of Volume III and front face of Volume IV also show mild, uniform transfer browning from contact with the cardboard slipcase interior. The first state Volume V dust jacket is magnificently bright – by far the best example we have ever seen, with only mild soiling to the rear face. The Volume VI dust jacket is also compellingly bright, with excellent shelf presentation and only mild scuffing. All six dust jackets are protected beneath clear, removable, archival covers.

Both slipcases are fully intact, despite inevitable soiling and wear to extremities. Some of the seams are starting, but all still holding together. We will pack this large, heavy, set, with care and ship at cost.

Marlborough ultimately took 10 years of research and writing and is the most substantial published work of Churchill's "wilderness years" in the 1930s, which he spent politically isolated, often at odds with both his own party and prevailing public sentiment. Churchill may have wondered if the life history he was writing might eclipse his own. It has been said that "To understand the Churchill of the Second World War, the majestic blending of his commanding English with historical precedent, one has to read Marlborough.”

Few accuse Churchill of objectivity. Nonetheless, as a work of history it drew high praise. Upon reading the proofs, James Lewis Garvin, editor of The Observer, wrote “I think it to be… the greatest of all your works…” Two months after Volume I was published, T.E. Lawrence wrote to Churchill: “Its parts balance and the main stream flows… It is history, solemn and decorative.” When Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953, it was partly for “mastery of historical and biographical description” on the strength of Marlborough, which was specifically cited by the Swedish Academy.

Reference: A97.4(I-VI).a, Woods/ICS A40(ba), Langworth p.169