Seven Pillars of Wisdom. A Triumph. LAWRENCE, T. E.

Second US edition, first trade issue, released shortly after the limited issue of 750 copies. Lawrence's account was first published in the US in 1926; the edition of 22 copies was published to secure American copyright and prohibitively priced at $20,000. "Lawrence had taken part in the preliminary planning of the Arab uprising and, in October 1916, was ordered to Jiddah to assess the military situation. What followed is recorded in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a personal, emotional narrative of the Arab revolt in which Lawrence 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" (ODNB). O'Brien A054. Quarto (250 x 195 mm). Portrait frontispiece of Lawrence from plaster bust, 47 plates, 4 maps in red and black, illustrations in text. Finely bound in near-contemporary blue morocco, spine lettered and tooled in gilt, gilt frames to boards, board edges and turn-ins gilt, patterned endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Bookseller's ticket on rear pastedown; first binder's blank with ink stamp of Wisconsin businessman Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr (1899-1978) and actor Irene Purcell Johnson (1896-1972). Spine sunned, wear to head of spine and front joint, light abrasions on boards: very good.