[LAWRENCE, T. E.]. Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a Triumph. London: Jonathan Cape, 1935.
FIRST TRADE EDITION, FIRST IMPRESSION; leather-bound; hardcover; thick quarto (26 x 20 x 5 cm.); pp. 672. English text with illustrations throughout. Bound in publisher's original deluxe full morocco gilt, top edge gilt, uneven fore edge and bottom edge, half-title, 3 facsimile examples of text or manuscript, 54 illustrations including portrait bust frontispiece, many charcoal drawn plates and in-text line drawings, 4 fold-out maps, appendices, indexes of place names and personal names. Condition: NEAR FINE. Binding tight and secure, the hinges and joints perfectly intact. Trivial handling marks to covers, otherwise a fine copy in the publisher's scarce leather binding.
Notes: Following his extraordinary military and diplomatic career in Arabia, and having already become a legendary figure in the public imagination, T.E. Lawrence purchased his Dorset cottage retreat Clouds Hill in 1924 to write his book about the war. The first draft of Seven Pillars was completed by November 1919, but was soon lost, according to the author, at Reading Station. A second draft was finished during 1922, and finally appeared as a private edition, reflecting Lawrence's love of fine printing, in 1926. '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 Seven Pillars is a sort of Pilgrim's Progress, with Lawrence, sustained by his faith in the Arabs, successively overcoming physical and moral obstacles' (ODNB). O'Brien A042.
