CHURCHILL, Winston S.
CHURCHILL, Winston S. Painting as a Pastime. London: Odhams Press Limited and Ernest Benn Limited, 1948.
First edition in volume form, first impression. From the collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford.
Tall octavo. Original pale cloth, titles in gilt to upper board and spine, frontispiece portrait of Churchill at his easel with facsimile signature beneath, and 18 colour reproductions of paintings by Churchill. The signature below the frontispiece is printed in facsimile, as issued.
One of Churchill’s most personal books, Painting as a Pastime gathers his reflections on painting as a source of relief, discipline and renewal. The essay first appeared in The Strand Magazine in the early 1920s, before being issued in this handsome post-war volume with reproductions of his own paintings. The 1948 first edition was published by Odhams and Ernest Benn, bound in pale cloth, and illustrated with 18 colour plates.
The provenance gives this copy its real distinction. Portal, Chief of the Air Staff during the central years of the Second World War, was one of Churchill’s key service chiefs during Britain’s air war. A copy of Churchill’s reflective book on painting, coming from Portal’s collection, has a pleasing personal resonance: after the immense pressures of wartime command, this is Churchill writing about the private art that steadied him.
Condition: A good copy. Cloth somewhat toned and marked, with visible sunning and handling wear, the spine darkened, and some general age toning to the contents. Internally clean overall, with the colour plates present and attractive. No dust jacket.
A desirable first edition of Churchill’s classic essay on art and recreation, elevated by its provenance from the library of Lord Portal.
