Grim and Gay: A Calendar of Wit and Wisdom for 1946 by Winston S. Churchill 1945

CHURCHILL, Winston S. (1874-1965). Grim and Gay: A Calendar of Wit and Wisdom. London: G. Delgado Ltd., [1945]. New Edition. Calendar for 1946.

110 x 190 mm. 26 numbered pages, complete. Original pictorial card covers featuring a photographic portrait of Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, tied at the head with a burgundy ribbon. Printed in red and black. Mild handling wear; a near fine copy.

An attractive calendar for the first full year of peace, pairing fortnightly dates with extracts from Churchill's speeches, selected and arranged by Sir James Marchant. Its title draws upon Churchill's tribute to London's endurance in his address to the Canadian Parliament on 30 December 1941: "Grim and gay with their cry 'We can take it'." The selections encompass wartime resistance, the RAF, European unity, democracy and the prospects of a younger generation. A well-preserved example of ephemeral Churchilliana, complete with its ribbon.