Antiquarian Auctions

Auction #114 begins on 11 Apr 2024

Lawrence, T. E.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom - A Triumph

Published: Reprint Society, London, 1939

Edition: New Edition

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Two octavo (145mm X 203mm) hardcover volumes in the original brown cloth bindings with black, gilt embossed, labels on the spine, without dust-wrappers, in good condition. Volume I with pages 1 to 26 of preliminary matter, plus pages 27 to 352 of text. Frontispiece portrait painting of author, two-coloured map and three full page portrait paintings plus a few cartoon line drawings in the text. The front cover shows extensive light rubbing. Volume II with pages i to v of preliminary matter (list of illustrations on verso of half title) plus pages 353 to 700 of text, including two appendices and two indices. Frontispiece portrait of Author plus three full page plates and line drawing cartoons in the text. "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is an autobiographical account of the experiences of the British scholar and soldier T. E. Lawrence popularly known as "Lawrence of Arabia". He acquired a knowledge of colloquial Arabic during a postgraduate year while on a walking tour through Syria in 1910. During the First Wold War he was sent by Lord Kitchener to Egypt, attached to a military intelligence unit. He became the leading light in organising an Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks. With the support of the Emir Faisal and his tribesmen, he helped organize and carry out attacks on the Ottoman forces from Aqaba in the south to Damascus in the north.

His massive literary efforts together with a reaction to his war experiences had left Lawrence exhausted by mid-1922. He was also totally disillusioned by the settlement which the politicians had foisted onto his Arab comrades-in-arms. He re-enlisted as a mechanic in the Royal Air Force under an assumed name. His friends persuaded him to produce an abridged version of Seven Pillars. A 'Subscribers Edition' of about 200 copies, was published in late 1926, with the subtitle 'A Triumph' - at a financial loss, leaving Lawrence with the prospect of bankruptcy. He then produced a drastically abridged version, under the title of "Revolt in the Desert", for sale to the general public. Lawrence was killed in a motorcycle accident in May 1935 and, within weeks of his death, the 1926 abridgement was published for general circulation.

When Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom first appeared in 1922 it was immediately recognized as a literary masterpiece. In writing his extraordinary account of the Arab Revolt of 1916 to 1918 and his own role in it, T.E. Lawrence sealed his place in history and legend as Lawrence of Arabia. Widely regarded as the last great romantic war story and described by Winston Churchill as one of "... the greatest books ever written in the English language". It conveys a world of wonders, written in the same committed fashion that Lawrence applied to his duties in Syria, this is a towering achievement of both autobiography and military history, as well as a first-rate adventure story,

  • Binding Condition: Good
  • Overall Condition: Good
  • Size: 14.5X20cm
  • Sold By: Books of the Koonap
  • Contact Person: Grey de Villiers
  • Country: South Africa
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 046 684 0553
  • Preferred Payment Methods: EFT and PayPal
  • Trade Associations: AA Approved


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