FH115 Final.qxd - Winston Churchill

CHURCHILLIANA
THOSE REALISTIC HOLOGRAPH LETTERS
Don’t be taken in—they look genuine, but they’re reproductions.
JAMES MACK • SPECIMENS FROM THE MARK WEBER COLLECTION
The first-known facsimile, dated 1945, was
written to acknowledge congratulations following
V-E Day and sympathy after Churchill’s party’s
defeat in the 1945 General Election.
utograph Letter Signed by Winston S.
“AChurchill, British Prime Minister, on debossed
House of Commons Notepaper, thanking a well-wisher for a
kind message on his birthday, 1947. Folded once, slightly yellowed
from age, otherwise a fine copy. $1200.” (This was an
actual offer on the Internet, but the honest seller, alerted by
an observer, conscientiously withdrew the item.)
More than one seller or collector has been taken in by
these remarkable facsimile holograph notes, produced by
Churchill’s Private Office from 1945 through at least 1959—
some of them so convincing that casual observers swear they
are originals. But distinguishing one is easy: if there is no salutation,
it’s a facsimile.
The Private Office acted in self-defense. From the time
Winston Churchill was thrown out of office in the July 1945
General Election almost until the end of his days, letters,
cards, and gifts flowed to Hyde Park Gate, Downing Street
and Chartwell, attesting to the esteem in which he was held
by ordinary people all over the world.
So from time to time, his Private Office made him sit
down with his big black pen and ink a note—sans salutation,
Churchill’s birthday was always the signal for
well-wishers around the world to send cards, letters
and gifts. This 1947 facsimile has been personalized
for the sender by the Private Office.
This 1948 facsimile without embossment or return
address probably accompanied books people
sent to be autographed; after the war he became
careful about the books he actually inscribed.
sometimes dated, sometimes not—which they then reproduced
by the thousands, thrust into envelopes and popped
into the post. Write to Mr. Churchill, and chances were good
you would get a “handwritten” reply!
The reproductions, especially in the early days, were
remarkably lifelike, the intensity of the dark blue ink varying
with nib pressure, as it does normally. Churchill’s signature
often bears his characteristic flourish, and looks as genuine as
all get-out. Clearly these early examples were color separations,
not simply black-printed reproductions.
In the beginning, secretaries would often type the
name and sometimes the address of the recipient (“Mr. A.
Withers” in one example here) at the bottom of each note.
But soon the workload prevented even this modest individualization.
Through 1950, most notes bore an embossed
House of Commons seal; when Churchill returned to office
in 1951 they adopted a printed 10 Downing Street letterhead;
after he retired they were headed from Chartwell. The
last one he actually wrote may have been in 1959; after that
his hand became very shaky and the notes were simply
reprinted from previous ones, deleting the dates.
FINEST HOUR 115 / 24