Winston S. Churchill, The Official Biography, Companion Volume V, Part 2, The Wilderness Years 1929-1935

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981. First edition. Hardcover. This is the U.S. first edition of Companion Volume V, Part 2 of the Official Biography of Sir Winston Churchill. The Official Biography of Winston Churchill, initiated by Randolph Churchill but completed by Martin Gilbert, is an epic piece of scholarship about a singularly epic life, comprising eight mammoth main text volumes and - so far - seventeen accompanying document or "Companion" volumes. The eight main text volumes were originally published between 1966 and 1988. Publication of the Companion volumes was completed in 2019. The

Companion volumes for Volume V of the Official Biography are perhaps the most keenly sought and most prohibitive to acquire of all Official Biography volumes. The British and U.S. first editions saw just a single printing and the Volume V Companions were published in smaller quantities than other Companion volumes - meaning that many first edition Official Biography sets will forever do without. The British first editions were bound in solid red cloth. The U.S. editions were published using British sheets, but more elaborately bound, with tan linen spines over blue buckram boards with blue spine title panels printed in red and gilt. The bindings also feature head and foot bands and vertical red transition rules between the tan linen and blue buckram.

This U.S. first edition of Companion Volume V, Part 2, is in near fine condition in a very good dust jacket. The binding is immaculate - clean, tight, and square with no discernible wear. The only flaws we find are a trivial wrinkle to the binding cloth at the head of the front hinge - perhaps a binding flaw, perhaps a tiny bump. The contents are bright and crisp, the volume clearly unread. We find no spotting and no previous ownership marks. We note a light, .75 inch pen mark at the top edge near the spine (clearly a stray pen rather than a remainder mark). The dust jacket is bright and complete, with no losses and retaining the original front flap price. There is some incidental soiling at the hinges, flap folds, and upper rear face, modest wrinkling to the bottom edge at the spine and front face, and .25 inch closed tears at the spine ends and bottom edge of the front face. The dust jacket is protected in a removable, archival quality clear cover. Please note that this large, heavy book may require additional postage.

Reference: Zoller A302e2.