AN IMPORTANT DONATION

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 2, 1 July 1940, Page 18

AN IMPORTANT DONATION

A FEW months ago a gentleman called at the library, saying that he owned a copy of the 1926 privately printed edition of “ The Seven Pillars of Wisdom,” by T. E. Lawrence. He held the opinion that beyond a certain point such volumes are not fully appreciated or made use of in a private collection, and suggested that if the library would accept it, he would be pleased to present the volume. As the library had received a group of Lawrence’s books from the collection of Sir Joseph Kinsey, it was with some pleasure that this proposal was welcomed.

On 23rd July the friend again called, delivering the work itself. In the meantime he had already sent to the library a printed volume of his travels round the world a few years earlier, and this contained, too, his diary while a schoolboy at one of the greatest secondary schools in New Zealand.

An announcement was made in “ The Evening Post ” of 26th July, but the following notes will be of interest to friends, and especially to all who admire Lawrence of Arabia. This first edition was printed privately by the Chiswick Press under the superintendence of Mr. Bruce Rogers, eminent typographer. Only about 100 copies were issued, selling at thirty guineas, but on the market the price rose rapidly to as high as £7OO and figures from £2OO to £4OO are not uncommon.

The work became known in part to general readers in 1927 when “ The Revolt in the Desert ” appeared. This was a rather disjointed abridgment, omitting all personal matter, and was withdrawn after about six months. It was not until 1935, a few months after the tragic death of Lawrence, that the full text was published in a splendid volume by Jonathan Cape. A distinguishing feature of the first edition is the large group of coloured and other illustrations included, mostly done by important artists. Only a few of these were subsequently reproduced in colour.