Winston Churchill Signed Supermarine Spitfire Photograph.

CHURCHILL, Winston S.; Stella Isaacs.

Item Number: 139006

Rare original black and white photograph of Winston S. Churchill observing the Royal Air Force in flight, signed by him, “Winston S. Churchill.” Double matted and framed with a photograph of a squadron of British supermarine spitfires and a German Third Reich Luftwaffe belt buckle. A British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II, the British Supermarine Spitfire was the only Allied fighter aircraft of the Second World War to fight in front line service from the beginnings of the conflict, in September 1939, through to the end in August 1945. Post-war, the Spitfire’s service career continued into the 1950s. The basic airframe proved to be extremely adaptable, capable of taking far more powerful engines and far greater loads than its original role as a short-range interceptor had called for. This would lead to 19 marks of Spitfire and 52 sub-variants being produced throughout the Second World War, and beyond. The many changes were made in order to fulfil Royal Air Force requirements and to successfully engage in combat with ever-improving enemy aircraft. In early October 1942, Josef V. Stalin wrote to Sir Winston Churchill, requesting the urgent delivery of Spitfires. Churchill agreed to send a batch of 150 Supermarine fighters, along with spares, equivalent to an additional 50 aircraft. Deliveries of Spitfire VBs to USSR started in the spring of 1943. These were the first official Spitfire export. With a two-page typed letter of provenance signed by the Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading visible through a pane of glass on the verso of the frame dated May 4th 1948 and addressed to William B. McIlvaine of Chicago which reads in part, “Dear Bill – I have had the picture signed by Mr. Churchill and here it is, I hope that your pal will be pleased with it. As you know, the old boy is a bit choosey about how he does these things, and so I had to wait until I got his wife to do it, and having accomplished it I am sending it to you.” Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading was an English philanthropist who is best remembered as the founder and chairman of the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS), now known as Royal Voluntary Service. As Lady Reading, she was highly active in promoting Anglo-American relations, not only as the wife of a former British Ambassador to the US, but also in her peacetime role helping to rebuild the British economy and find stimulating employment for women – both voluntary and paid. In very good condition. Double matted and framed. A very unique example with noted provenance.

Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on May 10th 1940, Winston S. Churchill became Prime Minister of England and took the lead in warning about Nazi Germany and in campaigning for rearmament. His speeches and radio broadcasts helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult days of 1940–41 when the British Commonwealth and Empire stood almost alone in its active opposition to Adolf Hitler. A non-academic historian, artist, and prolific writer, Churchill won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, lifetime body of work.