WINSTON S. CHURCHILL

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, octavo, [London], October 24, 1911. On imprinted stationery of the Admiralty Whitehall, as First Lord of the Admiralty, to Lord Northcliffe. Headed Private.

"Very many thanks. The Times was quite fair, & the Daily Mail most friendly. I am your debtor for a service useful I think not only to me. Would it be possible to convey a good impression abroad, & to bring that back by return here? Curiously enough who sh[oul]d I meet at dinner last night but Geoffrey Robinson. I knew him all the time. He is indeed a nice fellow."

Written on the day Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. When the announcement was made, Churchill wrote to John Morley, Gladston's biographer and a leading Liberal reformer. "It is a great responsibility & I now appreciate more than I did three years ago the importance of the office, in its bearings both upon domestic & international politics. I have always been specially attracted to naval & military subjects. I am I trust a sincere economist. The times are also good. I think I will be able to find my path along the causeway" [Martin Gilbert, Churchill: A Life]. Geoffrey Robinson was editor of the Times.

Lord Northcliffe was a press baron of his day, owner of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Mail, and The Daily Mirror, among other publications. Then, as now, rising politicians -- Churchill among them -- cultivated powerful and influential members of the news media. Geoffrey Robinson was editor of The Times.

Matted in cream and brown with a black and white portrait of Churchill in a gold gilt frame. Framed dimensions measure 16 1/2 inches wide by 12 1/2 inches high.

This item is associated with the following category in our inventory:

• World Leaders