24 April 1955 autograph letter signed from Churchill to the 2nd Viscount Camrose

Description: "I have so many memories of your dear Father, who was so kind to me for so many years."A 24 April 1955 typed letter signed from Winston S. Churchill to John Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose, son of Churchill's late friend, the publishing magnate the 1st Viscount Camrose, thanking Camrose for an unpublished tribute to Churchill, recalling his early career as a Victorian war correspondent, and warmly remembering his lost friend, the letter including Churchill's autograph date, valediction, and signature, and posted from Syracuse, Sicily Villa Politi, Syracuse, Sicily: 1955 Condition: Very Good This 24 April 1955 typed letter signed by Sir Winston S. Churchill to the son of Churchill’s close friend, the publishing magnate Viscount Camrose, is noteworthy in several respects – including the location from which it was sent, proximity to the end of Churchill’s final premiership, and in the reflective, self-deprecating humor and melancholy warmth of its message. The single-page letter on Churchill’s watermarked, laid paper, Hyde Park Gate stationery features Churchill’s autograph “24” for the day in the date, the valediction “yours sincerely,” and the signature “Winston S. Churchill”. Of note, below the printed “Hyde Park Gate” address is typed, in three lines, “Villa Politi, Syracuse, Sicily”. Condition is very good. The letter is substantially clean and complete, with a single circular hole punched at the upper left for filing, as well as an adjacent paperclip indentation. There are four fold lines - three vertical and one horizontal crease. Churchill resigned his second and final premiership just three weeks prior, on 5 April 1955. Having finally and irrevocably relinquished the reigns of power at the age of 80, on 12 April he left Chartwell for a two-week holiday in Sicily with his wife. Hence the address from which this letter is sent. Churchill’s resignation coincided with the second week of a national newspaper strike, so it obtained neither the news coverage nor the valedictory plaudits it might otherwise have attracted. Seymour wrote to Churchill on 7 April 1955: “I write… to say how distressing it has been that the Daily Telegraph has not been able to pay the immense tribute to yourself which we should have liked to have done.” In this letter, Churchill’s reply, he wrote “Thank you so much for your letter. I am so sorry to the Daily Telegraph tribute was never published. It would I am sure have gone far beyond what I deserve. But that might have been expected by the oldest correspondent of the Daily Telegraph still alive. I hope to see you ere long at the Other Club. I have so many memories of your dear Father, who was so kind to me for so many years.” The words “sorry” and “never” in the second sentence indirectly convey a sense of weight, of sadness that the self-effacing references that follow do not quite eclipse. In this short letter, Churchill is captured invoking his first career in the waning days of Queen Victoria’s reign more than half a century ago, using an oddly old-fashioned “ere long” to refer to his beloved club, and lamenting the loss of a friend to that friend’s son. The net effect is to gently evoke his own twilight and approaching end. Seymour had been 2nd Viscount Camrose for less than a year. When the 1st Viscount Camrose died, Churchill had written to Seymour and his brother Michael of their father “He was one my true and most valued friends for more than thirty years.” In addition to being the 1st Viscount, Seymour’s father had been British newspaper publisher William Ewert Berry, who co-owned the Daily Telegraph and Morning Post – both papers for which a very young Churchill had served as a war correspondent in the final years of the 19th century during the reign of Queen Victoria. Camrose published Churchill’s words and warnings during the 1930s when others wouldn’t. After the war, Camrose played the leading role in affordably securing Churchill’s beloved country estate for the rest of Churchill’s life. And Camrose negotiated sale and publication rights to Churchill’s war memoirs, ensuring the prosperity of Churchill and his family. Within a month of Camrose’s death, Churchill arranged Seymour’s election to the Other Club, prompting Seymour to thank Churchill for “the compliment to my Father… implicit in my election to the Club.” (letter of 13 July 1954) Churchill co-founded the Other Club in 1911 with his great friend, F.E. Smith, and it is difficult to overstate the club’s importance to Churchill – and indeed to British Politics – over the ensuing half century of Churchill’s life. Ref #: 008046 CHURCHILL BOOK COLLECTOR We are Churchill Book Collector, a professional bookseller specializing in books and other published works by and about the great twentieth century statesman and acclaimed writer, Sir Winston Churchill. We offer both a singular inventory and approachable expertise. The integrity of our inventory is backed by our membership in the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), and the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA). Churchill's official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, rightly called Churchill's long life "remarkable and versatile". Statesman, soldier, war correspondent, ardent social reformer, combative cold warrior, painter - Churchill was many things, but perhaps above all a master wordsmith. We’re here to help Churchill’s words find your shelves. Our extensive inventory features some of the rarest material offered – including fine first editions and inscribed copies – as well as reading copies and works about Churchill’s life and time. While we specialize in Churchill, our inventory also includes noteworthy first and collectible editions by other authors, ranging from Xenophon to T. E. Lawrence, spanning exploration and empire to twentieth century fiction. We are able to help with anything from finding individual books to assembling full collections, working closely with individual collectors to identify and accommodate their preferences and budget. We are also able to commission preservation cases and fine bindings. Please contact us if you have books to sell. We buy, and in some cases consign, fine and collectible individual items, as well as whole collections.

Price: 4800 USD

Location: San Diego, California

End Time: 2025-01-04T04:22:46.000Z

Shipping Cost: 20 USD