London to Ladysmith via Pretoria by Winston S. Churchill - 1900

New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1900. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very good. This is the U.S. first edition of Churchill's fourth book - the first of his two books based on his newspaper despatches sent from the front in South Africa. It was during this conflict that Churchill was captured by the Boers and made a daring escape that made him a celebrity and helped launch his political career. The American edition offered here is more scarce than the British, with a single printing of just 3,000 copies issued. The pebble grain red cloth of this edition proved durable, but susceptible to blotchy wear and discoloration, particularly on the spine. This copy is in very good plus condition. Spine presentation is unusually good; the spine remains bright with neither toning nor sunning, even color, and bright gilt. The binding is tight and clean overall, with sharp corners. The inevitable wear is modest, light overall, a little heavier at spine ends. The binding shows a very slight lean (that may be correctable). The only blemish is a single 1/8 inch diameter dark spot on the spine near the front hinge just above the author's name. The contents are bright and clean. All maps and plans are present and in excellent condition. We find no spotting. A single decorative bookplate is affixed to the front pastedown and there is a small dark ink stain on both the pastedown and facing ffep. The top edge gilt remains bright and clean. The fore and bottom edges are clean and just slightly age-toned. Bibliographic reference: Cohen A4.2, Woods/ICS A4(b), Langworth p.55