LONDON TO LADYSMITH (VIA PRETORIA)
-First English Edition-
1900
First English Edition [1 of 10,000 copies]
Longmans, Green, & Co. Ltd. [London]
Biblio: (Cohen A4.1.a) (Woods A4a)
8vo (516 pages with 3 folding maps, 5 other plans and maps, 32-page rear publisher’s catalogue.)
Hardcover [Fawn pictorial cloth]
Item Number: 212666
$1,600.00
Collector's Guide
London to Ladysmith was the first of two Boer War volumes derived from Winston Churchill’s newspaper dispatches as a war correspondent in South Africa. It features a thrilling account of his escape from the Boers, an escape that would help launch young Churchill’s political career. The First English edition was published elaborately in fawn-colored cloth stamped with a striking cover illustration of the infamous armored train that Churchill was defending when he was captured. The American edition is an unadorned, though still handsome, red cloth binding with gilt lettering.
Description
This is a very good copy of the First English edition. The cloth is exceptionally well-preserved, the gilt lettering and stamped imagery still vivid, both on the cover and on the spine. There is a small, inconsequential red stain on the front face. The corners are sharp, if a touch turned. The spine is well-rounded and unfrayed. The binding is tight, with the original black endpapers present. The contents are fine, with light, scattered foxing to the prelims and fore-edges only.
A far better than average example of this very perishable volume.