Portrait of Churchill
Guy Eden
Category
Books
Date
1945
Materials
Place of origin
England
Collection
Chartwell, Kent
NT 3082206
Summary
Full description
**The Inscribed Books Collection, to which this book belongs, consists of gift inscriptions on third party books given to Sir Winston Churchill from friends, family, and well-wishers, unsolicited presentation copies of books by strangers, as well as presentation copies from authors who were genuine friends and colleagues. After his death in January 1965, Churchill personally bequeathed the collection via his Will as a testament to his national and international achievements. 'Portrait of Churchill' was written by Guy Eden, a political journalist and lobby correspondent. Published in 1945 by Dutch publishing house Elsevier; this copy is the Dutch translation of the book. It depicts Churchill as a great leader ceaselessly toiling towards victory in the midst of turbulent military and political events. It shows him as a human being as well as the man who won the war.
Bibliographic description
144 p., [8] plates : ill. ; 19 cm. Shelflist entry unseen.
Provenance
The book was gifted to Churchill by J.P. Klautz of Elsevier immediately after VE Day, Europe was finally liberated and Hitler had committed suicide. Klautz inscribed the gift with his signature in addition to a message addressed to Churchill, dated 10th May 1946, which reads: "To Mr Winston Churchill with admiration and gratitude." Although a relationship between Churchill and Klautz cannot be confirmed, the latter is recognised as having defied the suppressing policies of the occupying Nazis. Klauts convinced Elsevier's board members to publish banned authors. Following the Nazi occupation of Holland in the Second World War, despite the company's headquarters being located in German-occupied territory, the publisher continued to support persecuted authors. Consequently, Klautz became a target of German Security Police.He evaded them once by jumping out a bedroom window and hiding in a neighbor’s chicken coop and subsequently by living in a hotel and bookstore. Before and during the war, he was able to help some Jewish colleagues escape. These people included Maurits Dekker, the bookseller who helped found Elsevier’s New York office. Sadly others were lost including Edith Josephy, one of the original editors of Elsevier’s Encyclopaedia of Organic Chemistry, who was killed at Auschwitz. Starting with the German publications and then the English translations, the banned books became part of the foundation for the Dutch publisher's renewed focus on scientific publishing that would go on to flourish in the 21st century.
Makers and roles
Guy Eden Brenden Bracken (1901-1958)