Description:

Winston S. Churchill Pristine TLS To British Tabloid Editor About "the coming year" 1939

A 1p typed letter signed by Winston Churchill (1874-1965) as "Winston S. Churchill" near bottom; and also inscribed with an additional six words and one typographical edit in his hand. December 23, 1938. [Chartwell, Kent, England.] On a leaf of watermarked custom stationery with "Chartwell, Westerham, Kent" letterhead. A central horizontal paper fold, and a minor corner wrinkle at upper right, else near pristine. 5" x 7.875."

Winston Churchill wrote this letter to Major David Percy Davies (1891-1946), director of the popular British weekly newspaper "News of the World" (N.O.W.) Davies had been appointed Deputy Editor of the newspaper in 1933 and would serve as its Editor between 1941 and his death in 1946.

Churchill wrote in part, "Thank you very much for your good wishes, and also for the letter and cheque. I hold myself at your disposal in regard to the further articles which would be written during the coming year…"

1939 would be a good year for Churchill from a literary perspective; he would publish no fewer than seven articles in N.O.W. between January 1939 and June 1939. It would also prove to be a momentous year for Churchill politically. Great Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939 and Churchill would be appointed First Lord of the Admiralty the same day: his "Wilderness Years" were finally over.

"News of the World" was a tabloid specializing in sensational news. Published continuously from its founding in 1843 until its discontinuation in 2011, its earliest stories (19th century) focused on crime and vice, while its later stories (21st century) trafficked in sex and celebrity gossip. By the 1920s, N.O.W. maintained an estimated readership of 3 million throughout Europe and the British Empire. Sales in 1939 reached an estimated £4 million.

This sort of widely-circulated publication appealed to Churchill, who had been writing newspaper and magazine articles for more than half a dozen publications since his days as a war correspondent in the mid-1890s. It is well-documented that Churchill earned most of his income through his writing. In 1939, according to one historian's estimate, Churchill earned $100,000 through freelance writing. From 1936-1939, N.O.W. paid Churchill £400 per article submitted, and during this period he produced two widely-read multi-article series, "Great Men I Have Known" and "Great Events of Our Time."

Churchill's submissions to N.O.W. in the late 1930s mostly concerned British and international politics. Churchill anticipated the rise of the Third Reich and its intrinsic threat to territorial sovereignty as early as 1933. Churchill used the platform provided by "News of the World" to loudly warn that German aggression was an imminent danger. Some of Churchill's articles published in "News of the World" in 1939 included: "Parliament is the Stage of Empire Drama" (published January 1, 1939); "Our Rule Britannia Office of State (The Admiralty)" (published May 14, 1939); "The Cinderella of our Fighting Services (The War Office) (published May 21, 1939); and most presciently, "Will There Be War in Europe - and When?" (published June 4, 1939).

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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