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COLLECTIONS Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T. E. Lawrence
Description
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph, by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") is a sweeping history of the desert campaigns of the Arabs, supported by England, against their enemies, the Turks, in the years of World War I. After his third draft of the story had been written, and the few printed copies were read by such acquaintances as E. M. Forster, Rudyard Kipling, and George Bernard Shaw, Lawrence embarked on the ambitious work of creating a privately printed edition. Because of his love for books and printing, he had his hand in all aspects of the creation. It was finally published in 1926 and sent to 230 subscribers. One of these 1926 copies, full of lavish English art of the 1920s, is now housed in the Hoover Institution Library. The illustrations in the 1926 edition were commissioned from artists such as John Singer Sargent, Augustus John, Eric Kennington, Gilbert Spencer, and Henry Lamb. There are 58 text illustrations and 66 full-page plates, as well as illuminated initial letters throughout the text, in the "vorticist" style. Each copy had a different fine binding made for it, created by London's preeminent bookbinders. The Hoover Library copy is bound in slate blue morocco and edged in gilt by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Lawrence worked very closely on the look of the book; no detail of the text layout or illustrative matter was too small for his loving attention. In a 1924 letter to the printer, John Hornby, Lawrence wrote, "I will be more than content if it just reaches the line which people who like fine printing find bearable. It won't be good enough to give pleasure . . . but I want it to avoid giving pain: to be in the insensible middle region." A beautiful book was produced. Thanks to the generosity of Stephen D. Bechtel Jr., who kindly made a gift of his copy to the Hoover Institution Library, it now graces the library's collection. |
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