CHURCHILL, WINSTON L.[EONARD] SPENCER, Sir.
The Second World War. London, Toronto, etc: Cassell & Co., 1948-1954. First English trade editions, with "First Published 1948-[54]" on the copyright pages. Enclosed in this copy is the "With the Compliments of the author" slip, with a slip "With all good wishes from Winston S. Churchill." Six volumes, original publisher's black cloth in dust jackets. 8 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches (21 x 14 cm). Jackets generally in fine condition, prices unclipped, very minor spotting to cloth and faint edge-foxing to the text blocks, the first volume with the bookplate and pencilled name of [Sir] Eric Ian Jacob, Churchill's Military Assistant Secretary, with his name also in the fifth volume.
A very good association copy, Lieutenant General Sir Edward Ian Claud Jacob (27 September 1899 - 24 April 1993), known as Ian Jacob, was the Military Assistant Secretary to Winston Churchill's war cabinet for the entirety of the Second World War, and so had intimate knowledge of Churchill's intentions, and of many of the specifics outlined by Churchill in his great history of the War. One of his duties was to interpret Churchill's strategic ideas to the Chiefs of Staff. He was later director-general of the BBC.