My Early Life, inscribed and dated pre-publication to Lord Beaverbrook by Winston S. Churchill - 1930

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1930. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This first edition, first printing is finely bound and inscribed and dated six days prior to publication on the ffep. The unusually personal inscription inked in black in four lines on the ffep reads: "To Max / from / Winston / Oct 14. 1930". Confirmed by his bookplate, the inscription is to Lord Beaverbrook, William Maxwell Aitken (1879-1964, Knighted 1911, created Baron Beaverbrook 1917). Churchill met Beaverbrook in 1911. Their association proved lifelong, close, sometimes frictional, and both personal and professional. A dynamic young Canadian millionaire, Beaverbrook moved to England in 1910. Already a Member of Parliament in 1911, Beaverbrook quickly became both a force in Tory politics and a newspaper mogul. During and between two World Wars Churchill was supported by Beaverbrook, beset by him, employed by him, served in the Government with him, or some combination of the above. Their friendship lasted more than 50 years until Beaverbrook's death, less than a year before Churchill's own. Beaverbrook was one of the three close Churchill friends dubbed with some disapproval by Churchill's wife the "three Bs" - including Bracken and Birkenhead. Like Churchill, Beaverbrook was intelligent, opinionated, energetic, ambitious, and polarizing. A formidable friend, he defended Churchill after the WWI Dardanelles disaster. But just a few years after this book was inscribed their friendship suffered its greatest strain. During the 1930s Beaverbrook shared "the almost unanimous conviction of England's ruling classes that Winston exaggerates the Nazi menace". Beaverbrook opposed and belittled Churchill to the point of cruelty, calling his friend a "busted flush" and mocking his exclusion from Tory leadership. Churchill wrote a widely syndicated biweekly column for Beaverbrook's Evening Standard. But at the same time, Beaverbrook's famous cartoonist - Low - savaged Churchill. Beaverbrook fired Churchill after Munich for stridently opposing appeasement - both a financial blow and a lost rostrum. Beaverbrook then published news of Churchill's financial distress. Nonetheless, when Churchill returned to the Admiralty, he advocated to bring Beaverbrook into the Government. When Churchill became Prime Minister, Beaverbrook became Minister of Aircraft Production - despite the King's explicit reservations - and later Minister of Supply and Minister for Production. Beaverbrook accompanied WSC on wartime visits to Roosevelt and led a British delegation to the Soviet Union, but resigned in 1942, precipitated by dissatisfaction with reconstruction of the Government. Churchill wrote to him: "We have lived & fought side by side through terrible days, & I am sure our comradeship & public work will undergo no break." and concluded "I am always yr affectionate friend." Beaverbrook continued to encourage and defend Churchill throughout the war and beyond. When Beaverbrook died, Churchill's secretary wrote privately "Sir Winston was deeply and obviously moved at Lord Beaverbrook's death, and in the last years no-one had been closer to him." The dark plum full morocco binding features gilt decoration and print, raised spine bands, contrasting title and author panels, gilt top edge, and marbled paper endsheets. Beaverbrook's book plate was carefully recovered and re-affixed to the new pastedown and a protective tissue cover was laid in preceding the inscribed page. A matching half-leather clamshell case is executed in the same dark plum morocco as the binding, with marbled paper sides matching the volume's end sheets, the same marbled paper lining the interior, and the same spine design as the book. Moderate spotting to the contents is confined to the prelims and page edges. Churchill's inscription is in excellent condition, the ink only modestly age faded and the page only slightly toned. Bibliographic reference: Cohen A91.1.c, Woods/ICS A37(aa), Langworth p.131.