Seven Pillars of Wisdom: a Triumph, the complete 1922 'Oxford' text, the publisher's hand-numbered limited edition, one of 80 sets bound thus in full Morocco goatskin, accompanied by both the finely bound Illustrations and Introduction volume and the publisher's portfolio of proofs of the Seven Pillars portraits, all housed in the publisher's slipcase Hand numbered "87" on the Editor s Acknowledgements page, again preceding the Editor s Preface, and finally on the verso of each portfolio illustration

T. E. Lawrence

Published by Castle Hill Press, Salisbury, England, 1997

About this Item

This finely bound issue of the first and limited edition of the full 1922 "Oxford" text is one of only 80 issued thus, the two text volumes in full navy Morocco with a supplemental Illustrations and Introduction volume as well as an additional Illustrations portfolio, all housed in the publisher s white cloth slipcase. Bound by The Fine Bindery, the text volumes feature hubbed spines and rounded corners, hand-marbled, gold-veined endpapers by Ann Muir framed by gilt dentelles, blue and white silk head and foot bands, and gilt page edges. An Illustrations volume bound in quarter Morocco and white cloth includes 41 portrait illustrations from the legendary 1926 Subscriber s Edition, 86 photographs, including photographic endpapers, and an 81-page "Introduction" exclusive to the finely bound issue of this edition, comparing the full, Oxford, and shorter, Subscriber s, texts. Accompanying the three bound volumes is a cloth-bound portfolio housing proofs of the Seven Pillars portraits interleaved with Japanese paper, as well as two maps. The Editor hand-numbered "87" on the Editor s Acknowledgements page, numbered and initialed the title page verso of the Introduction, and numbered the verso of each portfolio illustration. Condition of the main text volumes is fine, immaculate inside and out, with no appreciable wear or soiling and no previous ownership marks. We note only a barely discernible hint of spine sunning. The quarter Morocco Illustrations volume is likewise fine inside and out, apart from a hint of spine sunning. The publisher s white cloth portraits portfolio shows only two small, faint spots on the spine, and is otherwise without defect. The publisher s slipcase is complete and shows no appreciable wear, but, given the material and color, is predictably soiled and a little spotted.Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the story of T. E. Lawrence's (1888-1935) remarkable odyssey as instigator, organizer, hero, and tragic figure of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, which he began as an eccentric junior intelligence officer and ended as "Lawrence of Arabia." This time defined Lawrence with indelible experience and celebrity, which he spent the rest of his short life struggling to reconcile and reject, to recount and repress. Lawrence famously resisted publication of his magnum opus for the general public during his lifetime. The saga is remarkable. He nearly completed a massive first draft in 1919, only to lose it, his briefcase mislaid at a train station. This first draft was never recovered. At a fever pitch, Lawrence wrote a new 400,000-word draft in 1920. Lawrence followed this punishing burst of writing with brutal editing. In 1922, a 335,000-word version was carefully circulated to select friends and literary critics - the famous "Oxford Text". George Bernard Shaw called it "a masterpiece".Nonetheless, Lawrence was unready to see it distributed to the public. In 1926, a further edited 250,000 word "Subscriber's Edition" was produced by Lawrence - but only 211 copies were made, each lavishly and uniquely bound. The process cost Lawrence more than he made in subscriptions. To recover the loss, Lawrence finally authorized an edition for the general public - but one even further abridged, titled Revolt in the Desert. It was only in the summer of 1935, in the weeks following Lawrence's death, that the text of the Subscribers' Edition was finally published for circulation to the general public. But the text released to the world as "Complete and Unabridged" in 1935 and which became so famous is, in fact, a significantly abridged version. The 1922 "Oxford Text" - a third longer - was not published in an edition available to the public until this 1997 edition. Castle Hill Press, headed by Lawrence s official biographer, Jeremy Wilson (1944-2017), took this text from the manuscript in the Bodleian Library and T. E. Lawrence's annotated copy of the 1922 Oxford Times printing.Reference: O Brien A034a.

Seller Inventory # 008835

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Seven Pillars of Wisdom: a Triumph, the complete 1922 'Oxford' text, the publisher's hand-numbered limited edition, one of 80 sets bound thus in full Morocco goatskin, accompanied by both the finely bound Illustrations and Introduction volume and the publisher's portfolio of proofs of the Seven Pillars portraits, all housed in the publisher's slipcase Hand numbered "87" on the Editor s Acknowledgements page, again preceding the Editor s Preface, and finally on the verso of each portfolio ...
• Publisher: Castle Hill Press, Salisbury, England
• Publication Date: 1997
• Binding: Full leather
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