Beschreibung:

Lawrence, T.E. SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM. A TRIUMPH. [LONDON: PRIVATELY PRINTED, 1926] 4to, the subscriber's or 'cranwell' edition, one of 170 complete copies (inscribed by Lawrence on p.xix "Complete copy. I.XII.26 TES"), printed in red and black, text and decorations printed by Manning Pike with the assistance of H.J. Hodgson, 66 plates including frontispiece portrait of Feisal by Augustus John many coloured or tinted, 4 double-page, by Kennington, Roberts, Augustus John William Nicholson Paul Nash and others, 4 folding coloured maps, 58 illustrations in the text by Roberts, Nash, Kennington and others, initials by Edward Wadsworth endpapers by Kennington, contemporary olive green morocco (probably by Bumpus), spine gilt in compartments, top edge gilt [together with:] Autograph letter signed ("TELawrence") to General [?George Sidney] Clive explaining "the details of my proposed reprint of the Seven Pillars..." noting subscription status, explaining incomplete copies, publication date and copyright (2 pages, 8vo, 24 December 1923) Lawrence's masterpiece, in which he "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 The 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).