Lot 35
Lawrence, T.E. ◆
Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a Triumph
£52,700
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 8 February 2023 at 10:00 GMT
Description
[Privately Printed, 1926]. 4to, 250 x 187mm), the subscribers' or "Cranwell" edition, one of 32 "incomplete" copies (from an edition of 211 copies), (annotated by Lawrence "Incomplete copy, I.XII.26 TES" on page XIX), with an autograph letter signed tipped in ("yours ever, T.E. Shaw (used to be Lawrence)"), to Harry Goldie, saying "You, having been one of us, get (if you want it) a gratis copy of the text of the subscribers' edition. I stipulated this in my letter to the subscribers. It's exactly the same text as they have, but has none of the illustrations... I take it, from your letter, that you'd like one of these private copies, & shall send it to you when it's ready... Address A/C Shaw 338171, Hut 105, R.A.F. Cadet College, Cranwell, Lincs", dated 4.5.26, frontispiece portrait of King Feysal after Augustus John and 31 (of 65) plates (mostly in colour) and other text illustrations after William Roberts, Eric Kennington, Paul Nash, William Nicholson and others, 4 folding coloured maps, decorative initials by Edward Wadsworth, original brown half morocco by Coverly and Sons, spine gilt, t.e.g., endpapers by Kennington, preserved in modern velvet-lined brown cloth folding box with black gilt label [O'Brien, A040];
with, unique to this copy, a photograph of H.H. Hussein ibn Ali, Grand Sharif of Mecca by Ronald Storrs (inscribed on verso "this photograph taken by Ronald Storrs on visit to Jeddah, obtained by me at Jeddah 1917"), an original photograph of T.E. Lawrence with Dr Hogarth and Col. Dawnay, an autograph letter signed from King Hussein to Harry Goldie, in Arabic, with typed English translation pasted to lower half of letter, dated 23/11/37 (19/8/19), the letter pasted onto card, with inscription on card verso "Letter from King Hussein on my leaving the Hejaz. 1919. Signed by himself, H. Goldie", and the Order of Service for T.E. Lawrence's funeral at St. Nicholas, Moreton (to which is affixed a newspaper clipping noting the chief mourners - including Mr Harry Goldie)
Footnote
Note:
The limited edition of Lawrence's epic masterpiece and a superb association copy.
Captain [later Major] H.M. "Harry" Goldie had served during the Boer War in the 14th company of the 5th Imperial Yeomanry [and later 26th Imperial Yeomanry]. At some point in 1916 or 1917 Goldie was attached to the Arab Bureau in Cairo. The Arab Bureau was a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department during the First World War, established in January 1916 to harmonise British political activity in the Near East. Gilbert Clayton was its head or "Chief", David Hogarth, a Naval Intelligence officer, was Acting Director, and Lawrence was an active member.
In Lowell Thomas's With Lawrence in Arabia the author refers to a trip around Jeddah "accompanied by Major Goldie, an officer attached to the British mission which had its headquarters there during the campaign". The Imperial War Museum photograph catalogue no. Q60009 is captioned "Captain Goldie on return from Bir Derwish after evacuation of Hejaz Expeditionary Force. Last British officer to leave the Emirs (Ali and Abdulla abna Husain al-Hashimi). At Yenbo."
In Behind the Lawrence legend: the Forgotten Few who shaped the Arab Revolt, the author, Philip Walker, notes 'The commandant at Yenbo was the tall 39-year-old Captain Henry ('Harry') Goldie, a banker before the war, who had been engaged in important railway demolition work in the Southern sector with Captain Henry Garland.'
According to family tradition, Captain [later Major] Harry Goldie joined Barclays Bank in Cairo after the war in which role he transmitted funds to Lawrence.
Amongst other awards, Goldie was awarded The Order of Al Nahda [Order of Renaissance] of the Kingdom of the Hijaz, Third Class, by King Hussain Bin Ali of the Hijaz. British recipients of the Order of Al Nahda were published in the London Gazette, Goldie receiving the Order, 3rd class, on 16 January 1920, with him being listed as "Goldie, HM, T/Capt. Special List." Major Dawnay received the same order, Second Class, on 8th March 1920, at which time he was listed in the London Gazette as Head of Hejaz Operational Staff.
In addition to the usual text, bound in at the beginning are four pages "Some notes on the writing of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Shaw" This was a single-fold leaflet, of which about 200 copies were produced in 1927 for distribution to subscribers of the Cranwell edition. [O'Brien, A039]
Although the 'incomplete' copies do not have the full tally of plates, they are in fact of greater interest to Lawrence aficionados as they were given by Lawrence himself to those, such as Goldie, who had been intimately involved in Lawrence's wartime activities in the Arab Revolt of 1916-1918.
Lawrence's masterpiece is, "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" (L. James, Oxford DNB.)
