The Occupation of the Rhineland

[Dust Jacket Collector]

I thought some of you might like to see this copy of Brig. James Edmonds ‘The Occupation of the Rhineland’ that’s just come my way. Published in 1944 in a strictly limited edition of 100 copies this was, until recently, an extremely scarce book. However, the IWM having decided to offload their surplus copies, it now appears occasionally on the market. This copy is rather special though - not ex-Library & inscribed by the author to Winston Churchill with his son Randolph’s bookplate. Randolph inherited his fathers library and seems to have proceeded to stick his bookplate into many of them. Churchill & Edmonds seem to have been on close terms, Edmonds having been consulted while Churchill was writing ‘The World Crisis’. According to Edmond’s Autobiography they even played golf together. (Should anyone require my spare copy - unsigned, ex.IWM but a nice copy & have a spare £500 then please get in touch!).

[Buffnut453]

You lucky so-and-so.  I'd love to have that in my collection.

 

Does it have any details about the RAF in Germany or about the political crisis in June/July 1919 when there were doubts that Germany would.sign the peace treaty?

[charlie2]

Nice one DJC and it arrived quicker than your Ops in Persia. Be thankful TD had just sold me a copy, otherwise it would be sitting on a bookshelf here in Germany 
 

Charlie

[Dust Jacket Collector]

9 hours ago, Buffnut453 said:

You lucky so-and-so.  I'd love to have that in my collection.

 

Does it have any details about the RAF in Germany or about the political crisis in June/July 1919 when there were doubts that Germany would.sign the peace treaty?

Not read it yet but no mention of the RAF in the index. Will check on your other point later.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

1 hour ago, charlie2 said:

Nice one DJC and it arrived quicker than your Ops in Persia. Be thankful TD had just sold me a copy, otherwise it would be sitting on a bookshelf here in Germany 
 

Charlie

I also bought their Military Ops. Italy inscribed to Churchill but they’ve sent it by standard post rate and with Melbourne in lockdown it may take a lot longer.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

I also bought their Military Ops. Italy inscribed to Churchill but they’ve sent it by standard post rate and with Melbourne in lockdown it may take a lot longer.

 

     It does give some idea of priorities towards the end of WW2. Many a book I have seen from the latter war years is on rough paper, and has the wartime economy standard logo verso title. (Ironically, with a high concentration of rough wood pulp, these will last longer than most books printed before or since). But Rhineland looks up to pre-war standards as far as I can judge the paper.  The other tell-tale sign is the gilt title- like Lord Woolton's famed "economy" steak and kidney pie (No steak,no kidney), gilt titles from the wartime eras and their immediate aftermaths oxidise that more quickly as they have little real gold content.  May I ask if the 2 Officials show any signs of darkening on the gilt titles- I suspect not and that some sort of administrative privilege was used to get the production standards up to pre-war levels to match the rest of the set.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

 

     It does give some idea of priorities towards the end of WW2. Many a book I have seen from the latter war years is on rough paper, and has the wartime economy standard logo verso title. (Ironically, with a high concentration of rough wood pulp, these will last longer than most books printed before or since). But Rhineland looks up to pre-war standards as far as I can judge the paper.  The other tell-tale sign is the gilt title- like Lord Woolton's famed "economy" steak and kidney pie (No steak,no kidney), gilt titles from the wartime eras and their immediate aftermaths oxidise that more quickly as they have little real gold content.  May I ask if the 2 Officials show any signs of darkening on the gilt titles- I suspect not and that some sort of administrative privilege was used to get the production standards up to pre-war levels to match the rest of the set.

Here are 5 volumes from the middle to late 1940s. They all look fairly bright although it would probably depend on how long they retained their jackets and how they were stored.

[barkalotloudly]

umm yes i seem to recognise one of those volumes 

[Dust Jacket Collector]

4 minutes ago, barkalotloudly said:

umm yes i seem to recognise one of those volumes 

If you’d signed it I might have been inclined to keep it!

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

Here are 5 volumes from the middle to late 1940s. They all look fairly bright although it would probably depend on how long they retained their jackets and how they were stored.

 Alan, as an issue point, I thought part of the wartime economy regs. was "No dustjackets". (Saves on paper).  Are you sure these last 2 were issued with jackets?  If they were not , then it would compromise your collection and I would strongly advise your chucking them away as imperfect. Please remind me which day of the week you dustman comes round.....

[Dust Jacket Collector]

 Alan, as an issue point, I thought part of the wartime economy regs. was "No dustjackets". (Saves on paper).  Are you sure these last 2 were issued with jackets?  If they were not , then it would compromise your collection and I would strongly advise your chucking them away as imperfect. Please remind me which day of the week you dustman comes round.....

You may be right. All of the France & Flanders set had dust jackets but only the first volume of 1917 was published during the War (1940). The late volumes were all ‘47 or ‘48 as was Italy. I didn’t know about the wartime ban on jackets but it makes sense.

[Guest]

  A couple of comments- the Board of Trade regs. in both wars do temper how one collects the publications of those years (and immediate aftermath in both cases). In the Great War, there are many,many books where "gilt" has oxidised-quite simply because it aint gilt. Likewise, the use of poorer quality cloth and inks means that many books have a greater propensity to be sunned or have blotchy covers.  If you do have those that have retained gilt, then please remember to keep them away from sunlight.  The problem was reduced in the Second World War by the use of normal black printer's ink or silver gilt on the spine lettering.

   As regards Rhineland, it is likely that HMSO had earmarked the paper stocks before the war. In fact, it might be worth having a shufty for any printer's codes. Just because the title has a 1944 date does not mean that the volume was not already printed up as sheet stock pre-war. Just a little oddity-its called "book collecting"

 

Oh- This is when you want to see the lot pictures again from Dominic Winter for Bob Wyatt's copies of these books- Didn't some of them have jackets?

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Edmonds didn’t submit his first draft until July 1943, the final draft in October & it was printed on 31st July 1944.

I think Tom bought a number of lots from the Wyatt sale. He’s recently had some 1917 & 1918 volumes for sale in their jackets. If you’re feeling particularly flush I think Harrington’s still have all 26 vols. of France & Flanders in jackets for £12,500.

[Guest]

 Thanks for the info- It was just a tentative suggestion. BUT RHIP perhaps?  HMSO has kept books as sheet stock for generations (Rolls Series-medieval stuff-one kept in sheets for something like 80 years).  I am not into Churchilliana-there is still some stuff Woods missed in that it is printed but in internal Whitehall-circukated stuff-from when WSC was President of the Board of Trade.  In addition, it seemed to be the practice that Parliamentary papers were bound up for the minister and had the ministers' initials at the base of the spine- I have some with WSC which were probably the last knockings of what the Churchills chucked- but I suspect the Report of the Departmental Committee on Butter is unlikely  to outdo Rhineland in your affection!!

[barkalotloudly]

20 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

If you’d signed it I might have been inclined to keep it!

you never requested you wanted it signed!!!

[Dust Jacket Collector]

2 hours ago, barkalotloudly said:

you never requested you wanted it signed!!!

I thought that would mean I’d have to pay more for it!

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

I thought that would mean I’d have to pay more for it!

 

   But surely the opposite applies- if some idiot has defaced the book by scrawling on the endpapers, then a discount should be in order....Just a thought...I'll get my coat

[Dust Jacket Collector]

 

   But surely the opposite applies- if some idiot has defaced the book by scrawling on the endpapers, then a discount should be in order....Just a thought...I'll get my coat

Only if it’s in biro (should be shot) or magic marker & yes I’ve seen a few of those. Price clipping is also not to be encouraged with a special circle of hell reserved for those who cut the price from the back strip of the jacket.