INDIA
-Variant First Hardcover Edition without Dust Jacket-
1931
First English Edition (First Printing)
Thornton Butterworth Ltd. [London]
Biblio: (Cohen A92.1.b) (Woods A38)
8vo (144 pages)
Hardcover (without Dust Jacket) [Orange cloth]
Item Number: 14857
$5,000.00
Collector's Guide
India is a slender compendium of Churchill’s speeches about Gandhi and “Our Duty in India.” It was simultaneously published in especially handsome hardcover and softcover editions, both much prized today by collectors.
Description
This very infrequently encountered variant hardcover binding of the First Edition has spine type that is printed vertically, rather than horizontally. Bibliographer Ronald Cohen speculates that the original binding blocks for the first hardcover edition may have been scrapped after a very brief print run, but that unexpected strong sales sent the publisher back for a hurried reprint. This required using the blocks for the paperback edition, which had the spine type laid out vertically.
One way or another, this is a terrifically rare volume in lovely condition, lacking the original dust jacket. The orange cloth has faded modestly but the black lettering is bright on both the front face and the spine. The binding is square and the corners sharp. The contents are clean and unfoxed, with a discreet circular ink stamp on the title page and again on Page 141 at the rear identifying this copy as originating from the: “Manchester Reform Club Library.” The contents conform to the standard hardcover first edition.