The Seven Pillars of Wisdom

London: Jonathan Cape, 1935. First Trade Edition. First Issue (with misattributed pagination for illustrations on page 304-5). Quarto. 26cm. Publisher's polished brown buckram titled and decorated in gilt to spine and front board. 672pp. Strong and handsome, very light wear to corners, light bumping to spine ends, some sunning to spine region, lacks dustjacket; internally clean, bookplate of Nathaniel Tarn to front pastedown, contemporary Jonathan Cape mail order postcard laid in at the front, dark brown topstain, other edges untrimmed, illustrated throughout. A very good copy indeed.

From the library of Nathaniel Tarn, noted poet, translator, and anthropologist. Lawrence's autobiographical account of his campaigning during WW1 and the Arab Revolt, and the intensely strong bonds he forged with the Arab tribesman who fought alongside him. Always something of an outlier among celebrated military heroes, Lawrence never really meshed with the British military structure, nor it with him, despite his astonishing record of eccentric success and his undeniable motivational genius. Originally one of those early 20th century British archaeologist explorers who turned up on digs in his old school blazer and army shorts; he and his far more prominent colleague Leonard Woolley were enlisted by more shadowy regions of the British government to make an ostensibly academic study and comprehensive mapping of the Negev Desert in 1914. British and German archaeological teams were scattered all over the Middle East during this period, as in the build up to inevitable war the two Empires struggled for clandestine advantage in this newer theatre of conflict, one where control of oil was fast becoming the most important priority, and one where the Ottoman Empire was planted firmly in obstruction to British interests. From this madcap start, stopping short of outright violence but strategically clawing for every inch of advantage over the Germans, suited Lawrence's esoteric mindset, and catapulted him into a life of unorthodox and highly successful military endeavor. Seven Pillars of Wisdom stands head and shoulders above the general breed of military memoir, it is a piece of poetry, artistry, and mysticism, as well as being an account of intrepid bravery, and a love letter to a culture very much not the writer's own.