LAWRENCE, T.E. | Seven Pillars of Wisdom, 1935, limited issue

From the Library of Alan Milne

LAWRENCE, T.E.

SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM. JONATHAN CAPE, 1935

4to, LIMITED ISSUE of third English (first published) edition, NUMBER 732 OF 750 COPIES, photographic portrait frontispiece and 53 plates and illustrations (4 in colour) 4 folding maps, publisher's quarter pigskin, decorated endpapers, buckram boards, top edge gilt, corners slightly bumped, minor spotting

THE LIMITED ISSUE OF THE FIRST PUBLISHED EDITION OF LAWRENCE'S MASTERPIECE, published simultaneously with the first trade edition in the same year.

"Lawrence had taken part in the preliminary planning of the Arab uprising and, in October 1916, was ordered to Jiddah to assess the military situation. What followed is recorded in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a personal, emotional narrative of the Arab revolt in which Lawrence reveals how by sheer willpower he made history. It was a testimony to his vision and persistence and a fulfilment of his desire to write an epic which might stand comparison in scale and linguistic elegance with his beloved Morte d'Arthur and C. M. Doughty's Arabia deserta. Subtitled 'A triumph', its climax is the Arab liberation of Damascus, a victory which successfully concludes a gruelling campaign and vindicates Lawrence's faith in the Arabs. In a way Seven Pillars is a sort of Pilgrim's Progress, with Lawrence as Christian, a figure sustained by his faith in the Arabs, successively overcoming physical and moral obstacles." (Lawrence James, Oxford DNB)

LITERATURE:

O'Brien A041

PROVENANCE:

Charles W. Traylen, sale of stock at Dominic Winter, 10 April 2003, lot 27

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