The Second World War. Volume 1: The Gathering Storm. Volume 2: Their Finest Hour. Volume 3: The Grand Alliance. Volume 4: The Hinge of Fate. Volume 5: Closing the Ring. Volume 6: Triumph and Tragedy
Melbourne (Volumes 1-5) and London (Volume 6), Cassell & Co. Ltd, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1954 (the first five volumes are all first Australian editions; the final volume is the first UK edition).
Octavo, six volumes, xvi, 640; xviii, 684; xviii, 818; xviii, 917; xviii, 673; and xviii, 716 pages with numerous maps and diagrams throughout (many printed in two or three colours) plus 25 folding maps.
Black cloth; a few corners slightly bumped on two volumes; slight mark to the top or leading edge of three volumes; tiny abraded area to the leading edge of two volumes; small paper label of the contemporary Adelaide booksellers F.W. Preece Ltd. on the front pastedown of the first two volumes; small contemporary gift inscriptions in ink on the verso of the front free endpaper of the first two volumes (respectively 'Xmas 1948' and 'Sept 8th 1949'), with light pencilled accession dates in another two volumes; overall, an excellent set with the very good dustwrappers (generally sunned and a little chipped on the spines, with the third one torn with a few more chips). The first five dustwrappers are unclipped, and retain the original printed Australian prices; the sixth one has the UK retail price clipped from it.
The first volume contains a printed 'Author's Note' at the foot of page ix: 'July 15, 1948. Various Errata and Corrigenda are set forth at the end of the Appendices, facing page 610'. These occupy both sides of an unnumbered leaf, which is preceded by a bound-in slip containing a further 14 errata and corrigenda. The title leaf of the fifth volume in this set is a cancel, which we have not seen before. . Woods A123bb; Langworth, pages 254-282 ('The Australian Issue is wholly more satisfying to handle and read than the English because of its superior paper stock'). Both Woods and Langworth refer incorrectly to the Australian printer as Halsted Press; this should read Halstead Press. [6 items].
Item #147000
Price (AUD):
$400.00