Books

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1931. First edition, fifth printing. Hardcover. This is the first edition, fifth printing of Churchill's extremely popular autobiography in the very rare dust jacket, which is apparently unique to this printing. This is the only example of this dust jacket we have offered. Originally published in October 1930, My Early Life covers the years from his birth in 1874 to his first few years in Parliament. It sold very well at the time and has seen a great many editions since, many of them collectible in their own right, but of course a premium attaches to first editions. All six printings of the first edition feature a distinctive, vivid plum-colored binding, but the scarce and coveted dust jackets vary significantly. The first four printings occurred between October and December of 1930. The first printing dust jacket was printed in a vivid plum color. A second, third, or fourth printing dust jacket is vanishingly rare, very likely owing to the…

My Early Life is an autobiographical work by Winston Churchill. It covers his birth in 1874 to his first few years in Parliament.

First editions can be identified by the publisher's name Butterworth on the bottom of the spine and title page, as later editions were published by other publishers.