CHURCHILL, WINSTON. (1874-1965). British statesman and author; Prime Minister from 1940-45, and 1951-55. TLS. (“Winston S. Churchill”). 1p. 8vo. Kent, December 9, 1958. On his Chartwell letterhead. To book editor and noted bibliophile DESMOND FLOWER (1907-1997).

“Thank you for your letter. On the whole I think that I would prefer not to pursue your proposal at the present time. Yours very sincerely…”

Churchill distinguished himself as a soldier, author and statesman, rising to the height of fame as Britain’s prime minister during World War II. From 1945, when the Labor party regained power, until 1951, when a Conservative victory again made him prime minister, Churchill continued to write and champion the cause of British security and world peace. During his post-war hiatus from politics, Churchill began his six-volume history, The Second World War published by Cassell, between 1948 and 1953, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. After his 1955, retirement, Churchill again returned to his writing career, completing A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, an epic multi-volume endeavor, jokingly called by his political rival Clement Attlee, “Things in History that Interest Me.” The work, begun in 1937 and published by Cassell’s between 1956 and 1958, was exceedingly popular.

Despite contemplating a career in the antiquarian book world, Flower followed in his father’s footsteps, and entered the venerable Cassell’s in 1930. “Almost the last thing that Flower did before joining the Army in 1940 was to prepare the first volume of Churchill’s wartime speeches,” (“Obituary: Desmond Flower,” The Independent, March 31, 1997). Flower returned to rebuild Cassell’s after the war and “In this, Churchill’s six-volume history The Second World War (1948-54) was a gigantic asset,” (ibid.).

Churchill has added the day to the dateline by hand. Folded with normal wear and a file hole in the upper left corner where there is also a faint pencil note written in an unknown hand, “Copy to John Rothenstein / DNA & BAS.” In very good condition.