King George Vi. The Prime Minister's Broadcast February 7, 1952. Churchill, Winston S.

First US edition, first printing, produced by the leading miniature-book maker Achille J. St. Onge; 750 copies were printed, with 650 copies bound in blue and 100 copies in red morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe (no priority of issue). This was the copy of Churchill's bibliographer Ronald Cohen. Churchill's address to the nation on the death of the wartime King praised "The simple dignity of his life, his manly virtues, his sense of duty". He noted "the constitutional monarchy is the most deeply founded and dearly cherished by the whole association of our peoples" and looked forward to the reign of Queen Elizabeth: "I, whose youth was passed in the august, unchallenged and tranquil glories of the Victorian era, may well feel a thrill in invoking once more the prayer and the anthem, 'God save the Queen!'". The speech was also published in the UK by the Times Publishing Company the same year. Churchill gave special permission to Achille J. St. Onge to print the book. St. Onge produced 48 miniature books from 1935 to 1977, which were esteemed for their elegant design and remain much sought after by collectors. A book he produced on Robert Hutchings Goddard was taken by Apollo 11 to be first book on the moon. Provenance: Ronald Cohen, with his ownership signature in pencil on the initial blank. Cohen's Bibliography of the Writings of Sir Winston Churchill, published in three volumes in 2006, is the authoritative source for collectors, librarians, and dealers. Cohen A262.2b; Woods A135b. Miniature (60 x 41 mm). Original blue morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, front cover lettered in gilt, front cover with monogram and arms of George VI, rear cover with floral device, floral-patterned endpapers, gilt edges. A fine copy.