Seven Pillars Of Wisdom. A Triumph.

LAWRENCE, T.E. [Thomas Edward] (1888-1935).

London: Jonathan Cape, 1935. [Arabian Travel] FIRST TRADE EDITION, following the privately published edition of 1926. Quarto (27 x 20cm), pp.672. With 54 plates and four folding maps. Complete with appendices and index. Publisher's brown cloth with gilt titles to spine and gilt crossed scimitar motif to upper board reading 'The Revolt also means clean-ness + death'; top edge brown, others untrimmed, typographic dust-jacket priced at 30s. An exceptionally clean copy internally. A little sunning to spine and some marks to boards. Some small chips and closed tears to jacket edges. Jacket lightly browned and marked, with some larger losses to head of jacket spine. Very good. 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph' is the autobiographical account of the experiences of T.E. Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia') while serving as a liaison officer with rebel forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks of 1916 to 1918. The author vowed "No further issue of the Seven Pillars will be made in my lifetime" when he faced bankruptcy following the privately printed edition of 1926. This first trade issue therefore followed in 1935, within weeks of Lawrence's tragic motorcycle accident. Item #55808

Duval, Elizabeth W., T.E. Lawrence: A Bibliography (New York, NY: Arrow Editions, 1938), p.18 (11); O'Brien A40. Listed in National Geographic's 100 Greatest Adventure books.

Price: £395.00