ALS signed “Winston S. Churchill,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, personal letterhead, November 28, (1898). Letter to “Blakeney.” In part: “I send you herewith part of the chapter on Railways which I have roughed out since I saw you. This takes me to the end of your M.S. and I should be glad to have your opinion on my interpretation as well as the points of information for which I have specifically asked. I have sacrificed much of your conciseness to increasing the obvious force of the argument. But your ideas are as you see the backbone of the whole discussion…You must be tolerant of what you are pleased to call my ‘padding.’ I should retort ‘rien n’est sacre pour un sapeur,’ but I don’t think that would be true in your case. Please remember that it is a stupid world we live in and one that likes the pill of instruction not only gilded, but plentifully surrounded with jam. I have roughed out the skeleton of a map of communications and also a scale to show the relative facilities of camel, water, & rail transport…I go to India Friday, but I want very much to see you before then and to have a talk about the rest of the M.S.” In a postscript signed “W. S. C.,” he adds, “Will you send my M.S. back as soon as you have looked through it as I want to get it into type.” Two vertical folds, one passing through a single letter of the signature, light scattered toning and soiling, and a rusty paperclip mark to the first page, otherwise fine condition.
In 1896, the British government began the ‘truly imperial project’ of building a 660-mile railway connecting the interiors of Uganda and Kenya to the Indian Ocean, opening up access to previously remote areas and securing British predominance upon the Upper Nile. Construction was carried out by indigenous laborers along with thousands of workers from British India, where the 22-year-old Churchill was stationed as a correspondent for the British Army. Though controversial, the railway was a huge logistical achievement and became strategically and economically vital for both Uganda and Kenya, allowing coffee and tea to be exported and encouraging colonial settlement and commerce. In this 1898 letter to the co-author of a manuscript regarding the railway, Churchill (then stationed in Egypt, but remaining involved in Indian affairs) has presumably added great length and description, expanding upon the “backbone of the whole discussion,” set forth by Blakeney. A remarkable early correspondence from the future prime minister, showing the humor and deft use of language which became one of his most valuable skills, carrying him to the peak of success. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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