Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - March - 2003 Issue

Churchill in Word and Image As Collected By Carolyn L. Smith

Churchill tribute poster

Churchill tribute poster


By Abby Tallmer

Part One: The Churchilliana Collection:

We at AE decided that we wanted to review an exhibition called “Chuchilliana From the Collection of Carolyn L. Smith”, available for view to members of this esteemed book club – and to select guests of members and general members of the public by advance phone appointment – until March 14, 2003. The fact that the exhibition was curated by Mrs. Carolyn L. Smith, President of The Grolier Club, and that its materials came from her vast Churchill collection made us even more eager to visit the show.

I will start this interview with Mrs. Smith’s Introduction to the pamphlet accompanying the Churchilliana show. It is a useful quote to have in mind when reading the interview, so I include it here:
I was first attracted to the works of Winston Spencer Churchill by his superb use of the English language, particularly his speeches. The speeches lead one into a further world of history, travel, battles, painting, and much more. A complex and restless man, Churchill’s interests ranged widely. They covered a world far beyond that of books. He was an avid polo player, enthusiastically entered into landscaping plans for his beloved Chartwell, painted in Europe and Morocco and indulged in high jinks with his children. He was devoted to his wife, Clementine. Opinionated and well read, he never hesitated to speak on the issues of the times and to do so eloquently. He was also known for his devastating wit, of which one probably would just as well not be on the receiving end.

Churchill and his family lived well and he worked diligently at his writing to support their lifestyle. In addition to the many books he wrote, many periodicals regularly carried his work. However, he never lost sight of his political interests and of the welfare of his country. One could make the argument that it was his oratory as much as his day-to-day plans which won the Second World War. Although an intransigent man when he was convinced right, he was not known to carry a grudge once a debate or encounter was concluded. He was a gold mine for political cartoonists and loved their work. He held many important offices in government and was involved in many of the important issues of the day. He was a prime time politician in a newsprint era. The cartoons probably served much the same purpose as today’s sound-bit newscasts.

Rare Book Monthly

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    Forum, July 17: Lucianus Samosatensis. Dialogoi, editio princeps, second issue, Florence, Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 1496. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Boccaccio (Giovanni). Il Decamerone, Florence, Philippo di Giunta, 1516. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Henry VII (King) & Philip the Fair (Duke of Burgundy). [Intercursus Magnus], [Commercial and Political Treaty between Henry VII and Philip Duke of Burgundy], manuscript copy in Latin, original vellum, 1499. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bible, English. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New, Robert Barker, 1613. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bond (Michael). A Bear Called Paddington, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1958. £4,000 to £6,000.
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    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Yeats (William Butler). The Secret Rose, first edition, with extensive autograph corrections, additions and amendments by the author for a new edition, 1897. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bound in dark green morocco elaborately tooled in gilt and with 3 watercolours to fore-edge, by Fazakerley of Liverpool, 1841. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Miró (Juan), Wassily Kandinsky, John Buckland-Wright, Stanley William Hayter and others.- Spender (Stephen). Fraternity, one of 101 copies, with signed engravings by 9 artists. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Sowerby (George Brettingham). Album comprising 22 leaves of original watercolour drawings of fossil remains of Cheltenham and Vicinity, [c.1840]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Mathematics.- Blue paper copy.- Euclid. De gli Elementi, Urbino, Appresso Domenico Frisolino, 1575. £12,000 to £18,000.
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    2-17 July | New York
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    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Buzz Aldrin's FLOWN Apollo 11 Crew-Signed NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Cover. $15,000 to $20,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Lunar Surface Flown Mission Emblem Presented to Tom Stafford by John Young. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Albert Einstein. Typed Letter Signed ("A. Einstein."), to Ann Morrisett, Affirming a Pacifist's Right to Self-Defense, March 21, 1952. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Geek Week
    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Operating and Maintenance Manual for the BINAC Binary Automatic Computer Built for Northrop Aircraft Corporation. Philadelphia, 1949. $30,000 to $50,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Steve Jobs Apple Computer Business Card, c. 1977. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Extensive Chronology of Spacecraft From Apollo to Skylab, Signed by a Member of Every Crewed Apollo Flight and the Commanders of Each Skylab Mission. $5,000 to $8,000.
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    July 23, 2025
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    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE, July 23: WALL, BERNHARDT. Greenwich Village. Types, Tenements & Temples. Estimate $300-500
    DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
    DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
    DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
    DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800

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