Category: T. E. Lawrence

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Publishing Peregrinations

Tales of Charles Doughty and Arabia Deserta

Francis Dodd RA, etching portrait of Doughty.

Charles Montagu Doughty (1843-1927) was traveller, writer and poet extraordinaire. In a twenty-one month trek he became one of the greatest of Arabian travellers, as is recalled in his published record of the arduous journey that he undertook. It was on the 18th of November 1876 that he began his adventurous and perilous exploration of Arabia, that was eventually to lead to the two stately and challenging volumes some ten years later.

As we will observe the publication of this, one of the greatest travel writings was to be almost as trying as the journey that it describes. After his leaving of Arabia in 1878 it would take ten long years for the finished volumes to finally appear. This was only following some pressure from academics to be undertaken by the Cambridge University Press in an edition of only 500 copies, at the high price (for 1888) of 3 guineas.

The volumes can be a challenging read, being in Doughty’s distinctive and idiocentric style, part archaic, part linguistic. The passage to publication was to be a fraught one. In 1883 he presented a paper through Dr. T.G. Bonney to the Royal Geographical Society and the matter was then published in mere abstract form in the Society’s Proceedings of 1884, under the title Travels in North-Western Arabia (pp.382-399) together with a sketch map.

The bulky manuscript of his wanderings and ensuing research was submitted to a number of London publishers. One such was Macmillan & Co. It appears that co-founder of the famous publishing company, Alexander Macmillan was not too impressed, writing on the 24th April 1884 to Trelawney Saunders, who was an East India Company cartographer he was to state; ‘Not once but many times have attempts been made to read Mr Doughty’s MS by ourselves as well as by one of the ablest men we know. Upon no theory of scholarship is the style tolerable.‘ Macmillan goes on in the same missive, to quote from a letter written by a Rev. Dr. Percy Badger, ( this is George Percy Badger 1815-1888, missionary and orientalist) who amongst other things stated that the MS should be re-written. We will return to Dr. Badger later. Macmillan added to this letter to Saunders; ‘I like Mr Doughty exceedingly and should have been glad to publish his book, if it had been publishable.’ Publishers may tend to be cautious men, but these are extreme views on a book that was later to find such high acclaim, a status that it enjoys and indeed is enhanced to this day. It here has to be stated that this is not an easy book to read and in manuscript form must have been daunting in the extreme.

Upon eventual publication it gave rise to mixed reviews. These provided a reasonable launch for the volumes, for instance, The Times and The Spectator gave good, respectful reviews both appreciating to some extent the writing style. It was however reviewed in The Academy of Saturday July 28th by no less than explorer, writer and orientalist, Richard Francis Burton who provided overall a reasonable if grudging lengthy mention. Although commencing his piece with ‘Mega Vivlion Mega Kakon [Big Book, Big Evil] will I fear be the verdict of the general reader’, and ended it, ‘I cannot for the life of me, see how the honoured name of England can gain aught by the travel of an Englishman who at all times and in all places is compelled to stand the buffet from knaves that smell of sweat’. He was perhaps writing in character, rather resenting the fact that Doughty had apparently neglected to read his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Mecca, published in 1855/6 before setting off on his journey. Burton went on, ‘admiring the while the author’s unworldly unwisdom‘.

It was though an expensive set to purchase and sales for the Cambridge University Press were slow. However despite or because of these reviews and various personal  mentions, the volumes eventually found a following, although Doughty was to make little from the publication, in fact quite the reverse. Over the years of all of the admirers none were greater than T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), a man needing no introduction to readers of our blogs. He describes the work as, ‘a bible of its kind…the more you learn of Arabia the more you find in Arabia Deserta. also ‘We call the book “Doughty” pure and simple, for it is a classic’. Original 1888 copies were by this time, the period of World War I, fetching very high prices. This being the case and wishing to see the work more available, Lawrence attempted to persuade publishers to reissue the two substantial volumes. He had already spoken, to no avail, to the Government Press in Cairo in 1916. D. G. Hogarth head of the Arab Bureau during WW1 had praised the volumes for their informative value. There was an abridgement by the literary reader and editor Edward Garnett, published by Duckworth in 1908, but they too declined to publish the two complete unabridged volumes because of costs involved. Finally in 1921 Lawrence assisted in enabling Jonathan Cape and the Medici Society to publish the two handsome volumes, again in an edition of 500 copies at a price of 9 guineas, but with a new Introduction by the now famous ‘Colonel’ T. E. Lawrence to aid initial sales. So ‘Introduced’, the volumes’ sales went well despite the price, Lawrence’s confidence in the work was amply justified. This was Jonathan Cape’s first publication and set a high standard for future work from this publisher, which exists, in name at least, to this day. The new 1921 edition retained at least a version of Doughty’s Preface to the first edition, alongside the new Introduction by T. E. Lawrence. In this, Lawrence is highly complimentary and he uses some extracts from his early text to his proposed ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’. This new, second edition was to sell well and finally establish the book in the pantheon amongst great travel literature. Lawrence was to withdraw his Introduction after the initial edition, only allowing its replacement at a later date.

However, we now return to Rev. Dr. Percy Badger who had suggested a re-write to Alexander Macmillan. In his Preface to the first edition, Doughty states that Badger has very kindly aided me, but he along with others is left out of the so called ‘first edition’ Preface reprinted in the Cape second edition, as well as the new enlarged Preface of that second edition. One wonders just why? In this new preface Doughty makes a point of thanking the academics who persuaded the Syndics of Cambridge University Press to invest in the 1888 edition.

Arabia Deserta remained in print with Cape for many years, a worthy tribute to the work and its sponsors. T. E. Lawrence had two copies of each edition as well as Doughty’s poetry volumes at his Clouds Hill library at the time of his death in 1935. The literary reader Edward Garnett, a great judge of merit in writers of all kinds, was to state, ‘Doughty needs no defenders’ in a letter dated October 31st 1935, in a response to Cyril Laken of the The Sunday Times regarding an article of Garnett’s that had been ‘mutilated ‘.

In his later life Doughty wrote and published a number of volumes of poetry. In a letter to T. E. Lawrence dated 6th November 1920, Doughty was to write, ‘When the printing and publishing of the Arabia Deserta volumes was completed, I found little interest was taken in such work at home, I felt therefore I had done therein what was in my power, and as the Arabs say, I might wash my hands of it: and could now turn to what I considered my true life’s work with the Muse’. The Muse in his poetry led him in a rather eccentric style, as might be expected, but again these found a following. The writer and great poet to be Edward Thomas reviewed Adam Cast Forth in 1908 and spoke of his unique power. T. E. Lawrence writing to Charlotte Shaw in 1927 was to write; ‘Adam cast Forth is splendid. Its goodness defies the lack of form which would have ruined a less great work, but otherwise I cannot see more than great effort and great failure in his poetic work’. So even he was ambivalent about the poetry, but in the same letter he was to state; ‘Arabia Deserta remains wonderful.’

These poetry volumes consisted of: The Dawn in Britain in six volumes (1906), Adam Cast Forth (1908), The Cliffs (1909), The Clouds (1912), The Titans (1916) and Mansoul; or, The Riddle of the World (1920) which he continued revising until the end of his life. These poems can be hard going, but they do have devoted followers, although by no means being an ‘easy’ read.

Doughty died on the 20th January 1926 and was cremated at Golders Green, amongst the mourners, one man in an R.A.F. uniform was present, it was T. E. Shaw (Lawrence of Arabia). Jonathan Cape suggested that
T. E. Lawrence write a biography of Doughty but he declined, later suggesting Siegfried Sassoon. In 1928 a biography was published written by Lawrence’s mentor, friend and admirer of Doughty, D. G. Hogarth, being seen through the press by his son, following Hogarth’s own death in 1927.

Doughty’s great work of Arabia Deserta will survive as a literary masterpiece alongside such as Ulysses, Moby Dick and perhaps indeed even Seven Pillars of Wisdom, (of this latter, the 1922 text of which was loaned to Doughty by Lawrence, he found hard to take, with its references to subjects difficult for him to comprehend). Doughty’s poetry may have a harder time in the modern world.

But if you wish to spend long hours of toil and pleasure experiencing life in nineteenth century Arabia, now long gone forever, with all of its sounds, hazards and smells, then Charles M. Doughty is your man and boon companion on the journey.

Further reading;

Doughty, Charles, M. Travels in North Western Arabia and Nejd, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, No. VII, July, 1884.pp.382-399 + map.

Doughty, Charles, M. Travels in Arabia Deserta, Cambridge University Press, 1888.

Doughty, Charles, M. Travels in Arabia Deserta, with a New Preface By the Author, Introduction By T.E. Lawrence, Philip Lee Warner Medici Society and Jonathan Cape, 1921.

Doughty, Charles, M. Hogarth’s Arabia, Privately Published, 1922.

Hogarth, D.G. The Life of Charles M. Doughty, Oxford University Press, 1928.

Taylor, Walt, Doughty’s English, S.P.E. Tract, No LI, Clarendon Press, 1939.

Davis, Herbert, Charles Doughty, 1843-1926, Wells College Press, 1943.

Tabachnik, Stephen, Ely (ed.) Explorations in Doughty’s Arabia Deserta, University of Georgia Press, 1987.

Taylor, Andrew, God’s Fugitive, The Life of C.M. Doughty, Harper Collins, 1999.

Lawrence. T.E. (Jeremy & Nicole Wilson eds), T.E. Lawrence, More Correspondence with Writers (includes Charles M. Doughty), Castle Hill Press, 2014.

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Book News First Editions T. E. Lawrence

A Whimsical Drive Through Motor Sport at Rickaro Books

We enjoy most forms of motor sport at Rickaro Books and indeed offer some small support for Fastline Superbikes of Preston who run Bobby Varey on a TZ 250cc Yamaha in Club 59 events at circuits around the country.

On this note our stock contains interesting published items from all periods and forms of the sport and we particularly appreciate signed or association items. So here is a small selection of what we consider fascinating, if sometimes unexpected, material relating to significant figures across the range and times of both two and four wheeled racing. They are not always listed on our sites so do contact us about any that may be of interest.

So we start with the earliest days and a presentation copy of a book by a pioneer racer, Charles Jarrott (1877-1944). He raced from 1900 to 1904, winning the 1902 Circuit des Ardennes race and competing in the 1903 and 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup races. This is a 1912 edition of his book, “Ten Years of Motors and Motor Racing”, first published in 1906. It is a presentation copy from the author to a colleague from the “Great War” and dated 1918.

The volume is an enthralling account of the early races and contains splendid photographs of the cars and characters of the period.

It is not just factual writings that some of the heroic figures of the sport produced, but some turn their hands to fiction. One such is Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948). He was of course a racing driver of renown as well as being world speed record on land and water. His land and water vehicles were called “Bluebird” and the tradition was continued by his son Donald. But Sir Malcolm wrote novels for readers who were young at heart, “boys and old boys” and here is a rather interesting presentation copy of one, being his second novel. It has the striking and evocative Roland Davies dust-wrapper artwork.

Tazio Nuvolari (1892-1953): it was Dr Ferdinand Porsche who described Nuvolari as “the greatest driver of the past, the present or the future”. He was arguably the most courageous racer to have ever lived. Whilst it is always difficult to compare eras, it can be claimed that his accomplishments certainly rival that of Fangio, Senna and Schumacher, he is without question the greatest of his era. He was a man of many talents having raced motorcycles as well as cars from 1925 until 1930, when he concentrated on cars, and won the 1932 European Championship. He had a long career racing for Alfa Romeo in Enzo Ferrari’s team and going on to drive the fearsome rear-engined Auto Unions. Well recalled in England for his stirring victory at Donnington in 1938. A perhaps typical exploit was to take place during the 1948 Mille Miglia, Nuvolari’s final one. The bonnet flew off his race car at speed, narrowly missing his head. Nuvolari’s passenger was, understandably, alarmed but Nuvolari calmly stated it would better cool the engine, next however, Nuvolari’s seat came loose, throwing it out he was calmly to continue, until brake failure finally forced him to retire. He was indeed a striking figure in his yellow racing shirt with his TN monogram and tortoise lucky charm .In his later years he was to suffer ill health brought on by the fumes that he had inhaled over the years. Unlike many of his colleagues he was to die in his bed in 1953. He is buried near his home town of Mantua, in the family vault where an inscription reads: Correrai Ancor Più Veloce Per Le Vie Del Cielo ( You will race even faster along the roads of heaven), he requested to be buried in his racing outfit.

Stanley Woods (1903-1993) was an Irish motorcycle racer, who gained fame for riding in the TT races on the Isle of Man. He rode with greatest success with Norton and Moto Guzzi. What is perhaps not so well known is his connection with toffee! He signed this letterhead in 1990.

Whilst perhaps not directly involved with motor sport, T.E. Shaw (Lawrence of Arabia) had a great regard for speed, (“the greatest pleasure of my recent life has been speed on the road”) either on one of his beloved Brough Superior motorcycles, or on the water in Biscayne Baby speedboat “Biscuit” that he used whilst based at Mountbatten.

Here is a note to a fellow aircraftman about a part for the rev counter of the Biscayne Baby (BB) and asking him to either repair it or take this with the other parts to a Plymouth watch dealer S. Davies for repair. An interesting aside: might this be the watch repairer that TE would have taken his own “Omega” wrist chronograph for a service? Do the records of S. Davie exist? A fascinating survival of a small seemingly insignificant note.

New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren (1937-1970) was to drive for Cooper winning a number of Grand Prix before leaving in 1965 to found the still renowned eponymous F1 team McLaren. In 1966 he was to win Le Mans, driving a Ford GT40. The book “From the Cockpit” relates the story of his life. Laid in this particular copy is an original photograph of McLaren driving a number 6 Cooper, c.1962. signed in ink, “To Hilary, Bruce McLaren”, bearing photographer stamps to reverse for Patrick Benjafield (photographer for Autosport). “Hilary” is the wife of Alfred Ben Bigg. Also present are two passes for the British Grand Prix, 21 July 1962 and European Grand Prix, 11 July 1964. An interesting cache of 1960s GP items.

Mike Hailwood (1940-1981) the great “Mike the Bike” was a nine-time world champion, Hailwood won 76 Grand Prix races during his motorcycle racing career, including 14 Isle of Man TT victories and four consecutive 500 cc world championships. After his motorcycle racing career concluded, he went on to compete in Formula One and other classes of car racing, becoming one of the few men to compete at Grand Prix level in both motorcycle and car racing. In addition he was awarded the George Medal for bravery for rescuing Clay Regazonni from a blazing car. Other than that it was winning the 1978 Isle of Man TT after 11 years away from bike racing that Mike Hailwood had perhaps the greatest ever of his many achievements. Here is a nice copy of his book signed at that 1978 TT.

Another great driver who raced from the 1960s having some eight wins and 25 podium finishes in F1, going on to win Le Mans no less than six times is Jacky Ickx. Seen here in a signed photograph at one of his 1960s wins. Still active in the sport and sponsoring Choppard Mille Miglia wrist chronometers.

It is a truth that fine cars and fine watches or perhaps chronographs go together. Timekeeping has always been an integral part of motor sport since the earliest period. With this in mind we recommend two splendid volumes “Time to Race, Watches and Speed, Stories of men and machines” Parts I and II. These are written by Cesare Maria Mannucci and John Goldberger (Auro Montanari) and published by Nuova Esperia Imm s.r.l. They contain information on a host of racing drivers and the watches that they wore. These are heavy weight volumes in all senses, large format and packed with biographical information on the drivers and superb images of them and of the watches they are wearing. These are volumes that any motor sport fan or watch collector will find of great interest.

Steve McQueen and Jo Siffert wearing the Heuer Autavia (Siffert).

Time is now up on this particular blog! and the chequered flag falls.

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Antiquarian Book News Fine Press First Editions Rickaro Books T. E. Lawrence

The 1976 Scolar Press William Caxton facsimiles

Incunabula, is the plural of the Latin word incunabulum, a cradle, in bibliographical terms it refers to the cradle of printing, an early printed book, especially one printed before 1501.

It was in 1976 that the Scolar Press produced three facsimile volumes to mark the 500 years since 1476 when Caxton returned to England and set up the first printing shop in England, close to Westminster Abbey. From here he issued over a hundred books between 1476 and 1492, which was the year of his death. Having initially been involved in commerce in London he then moved to Bruges, the centre of the wool trade, where he operated from and had connections with the Yorkist dynasty. It was in fact at the request of the Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV, that he translated The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. Caxton was the first person to bring printing to England, initially having royal and aristocratic patronage that to some extent influenced the volumes that he both edited and printed, however he appears to have had a real eye for sales, being a bookseller as well as publisher and found support from the merchant and ecclesiastical classes.

There were three titles chosen to be produced by Scolar Press in facsimiles and these are indeed handsome volumes worthy of the quincentenary. Significantly limited to just 500 numbered copies each, they have themselves become highly collectable items. They are bound in a rough linen cloth with a brown leather title label that really suits the period feel of these volumes. Of the five hundred limitation fifty copies were bound in full leather by the Eddington bindery.

The three original volumes all date to the 1480s, that period of strife in England between the death of Edward IV in 1483 and the usurpation and death at Bosworth of Richard III in 1485. This period of political turmoil meant that Caxton tended to move away from his aristocratic patrons and operate more independently, creating volumes that were being asked for. Many noble and dyuers gentylmen of thys royame of England camen and demaunded me many and oftymes…

The three volumes are in chronological order as follows:

The Game and Playe of Chesse, 1483 is reproduced in facsimile from the copy at Trinity College, Cambridge. The second edition with woodcuts, the first being dated 1474.  Although it bears the title, The Game and Playe of the Chesse it should not be regarded as an instructional book on Chess. It is in fact a translation of Jacobus de Cessolis’ thirteenth-century political treatise, the Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium ac popularium super ludo scachorum (The Book of the Morals of Men and the Duties of Nobles and Commoners, on the Game of Chess).

The History and Fables of Æsop, 1483 is reproduced from the unique copy in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle. This volume contains a Life of Æsop and is illustrated with woodcuts, the translation by Caxton from Macho’s 1482 French edition.

This is a facsimile of the Pierpont Morgan Library copy of Caxton’s Morte d’Arthur, 1485, the only surviving complete copy. (A nearly complete copy is kept at the Rylands Library, Manchester and a single leaf was at Lincoln Cathedral.) The facsimile has a preface discussing and illustrating the watermarks in the Pierpont Morgan Library copy. If one wishes to own a copy the facsimile is probably as close as anyone can aspire, unless in an unlikely event, a third copy should be discovered! It was an interesting time for Caxton to edit and print Thomas Malory’s tales of chivalry, a time of political turmoil and conflict, so it is perhaps fitting that in his Prologue he entreats; And I, accordyng to my copye, haue doon sette it in enprynte to the entente that noble men may see and lerne the noble actes of chyualrye, the jentyl and vertuous dedes that somme knyghtes vsed in thos dayes, by whyche they came to honour, and how they that were vycious were punysshed and ofte put to shame and rebuke, humbly bysechyng al noble lordes and ladyes wyth al other estates of what estate or degree they been of, that shal see and rede in this sayd book and werke, thagh they take the good and honest actes in their remembraunce, and to folowe the same; wherein they shalle fynde many joyous and playsaunt hystoryes and noble and renomena actes of humanyte, gentylnesse, and chyualryes. 

There is a curious and much debated point contained within Chapter V on the Roman War rewritten by Caxton for his 1485 edition. It has to be stated that there are many academic debates around the text of the rediscovered “Winchester” manuscript and the Caxton edition. The significant point here is that the printing of the Caxton edition was completed on the last day of July, as stated in the Epilogue, seven days before Henry Tudor landed at Milford Haven and just a few weeks before Bosworth. An article by P.C.J. Field in The Arthurian of 1995 on the “Roman War”, the well-known chapter fully revised by Caxton, raises this matter. Field reported an interesting alteration to the text between the “Winchester” and “Caxton” versions, which he states could have been made only by Caxton. The bear –som tyraunte that turmentis thy peplem– in Winchester (Malory, 1976b: 75v) is killed by a dragon that represents King Arthur, but in the Caxton edition, the ‘bear’ is turned into a ‘boar’ some six times. Field states: “The change must have been deliberate, and it created a bold political allusion: the boar was the badge of King Richard III and the dragon that of Henry Tudor. The allusion would only have made sense in or just before 1485 and it is difficult to see who could have been responsible for it but Caxton himself”. (Field, 1995: 37). This particular statement is complicated to understand, why would this only have made sense before 1485, surely it would have been truer and safer to state after Bosworth? The change from “bear” to “boar” is in itself rather strange, but it seems to me rather unlikely that Caxton would make such a “bold” political point BEFORE Bosworth (August 1485) and why? If it was a political point, it dates the writing of it to after October of 1482 and the printing in July 1485. It certainly would have been a risky tactic, perhaps Caxton or someone in the print shop was a Tudor supporter? Field argues that Caxton may have hated Richard III following the execution in 1483 of Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, a Caxton patron and translator with whom he had a particular relationship, indeed it has been suggested Rivers may have aided his move from Bruges to London in 1476. Of course the change to “boar” from “bear” could be merely a co-incidence and have no connection to the badges of Henry VII and Richard III? It must be recalled that Caxton was a man of commerce, a bookseller and publisher and his first instinct would be to protect his business interests, keeping a low profile and printing what he could. However, certainly by July of 1489 when Caxton completed Feats of Arms concluding his epilogue with a prayer for the king’s success in his enterpryses as wel in Bretagne, Flaunndres and other placis, his place at the top of society was re-established. Caxton died in 1492.

See below the 1485 Caxton edition and the 1901 Dent edition.

Caxton 1485

One further point of interest for us regarding this volume, is that T.E. Lawrence carried a copy of the Everyman’s edition of Morte D’Arthur with him on his desert campaign in WWI and it can be seen represented on his effigy at Wareham. There are also some parallels with Seven Pillars in the academic discussions of the 1922 and 1926 editions in its changed textual versions and the lengthy catalogue of names contained in the text of both Morte and SP. If we wish to further this connection we might briefly consider a book printed by TE’s friend Vyvyan Richards in 1927. This is William Caxton’s Prologues and Epilogues produced by Richards to, as he states in the Colophon, “display the character of Caxton”. TE and Richards first became friends at Jesus College, Oxford and long planned to print together. This never happened and the small booklet was the only work printed by Richards, who became a teacher. One further interesting connection (those things that we so love) is that Robert Graves purchased the printing press and paper from Richards and set up the Seizin Press with Laura Riding in 1928.

Selected further reading;
Richards, Vyvyan, William Caxton’s Prologues & Epilogues, Privately Printed, Oxford, 1927.

Bennett J.A.W. (Ed.), Essays on Malory, Oxford, 1963.

Blake, N.F., Investigations into the Prologues and Epilogues by William Caxton, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Vol. 49. No. 1, Autumn, Manchester, 1966.

Harris, Graham, The Marvellous Dream of King Arthur, The Ricardian, Vol III, No 44, March, London, 1974.

Takamiya, Toshiyuki & Brewer Derek, (Eds), Aspects of Malory, Woodbridge, 1981.

Hellinga, Lotte, Caxton in Focus, London, 1982.

Field, P.J.C. Caxton’s Roman War, contained in Arthuriana, Volume 5 Number 2, Summer, Dallas, 1995. .

Matthews, William, William Matthews on Caxton and Mallory, contained in Arthuriana, Volume 7 Number 1, Spring, Dallas, 1997, Special Issue.

Sutton, Anne, William Caxton king’s printer, contained in Medieval Merchant, Harlaxton Medieval Studies, Volume XXIV, Donington, 2014.

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Book News T. E. Lawrence

Fake or Fortune in the TEL World

Caveat emptor, as they say. We recently made a considered purchase of what I regarded to be a deliberate “fake”, by persons unknown, of a volume from what is known as the “Clouds Hill library”. These being the books that were in TE’s cottage at the time of his death in 1935. We purchased this to have in our collection an example of just such an item as it has a certain curiosity value in its own right and makes for a good exemplar.

The volume in question purports to be the presentation copy of “All Our Yesterdays” by H. M. Tomlinson. The problems that I note regarding this volume are: 1. incorrect bookplate; 2. suspicious and weak inscription; 3. in just too good a condition. It is too bright and clean and “Clouds Hill” books rarely have dust wrappers. Would you agree with this assessment? The actual “Clouds Hill” copy may be out there somewhere. Do you have it perhaps?

I write here as a warning that such items are in the market place, but of course the collector must always decide for themselves if an item is genuine or not! It is well known that these volumes are catalogued in some detail, indicating publishing points and other features, in “T.E. Lawrence by His Friends” published in 1937 shortly after TE’s death. Indeed this section of the volume may lend itself to being used as a kind of “faker’s bible”.

The actual books were mainly widely dispersed by A.W. Lawrence and the majority bear a small, retro fitted, bookplate to identify them as coming from Clouds Hill. However, there are books around with a “fake” or  ”second state” bookplate, possibly prepared by a bookseller. I have had through my hands the same title, one with a correct bookplate and the other with a “second state” or “fake”. I have never come across a book with provenance containing the “fake” plate. In our possession is a fine set of original photographs of the interior of Clouds Hill taken shortly after TE’s death. The exciting thing is, these are so clear that very occasionally and with the aid of a magnifying glass, we can spot the title on the shelf. Not that this necessarily identifies the actual volume, unless it is in a special binding, such as a volume recently sold at Bonhams. So one generally needs additional marks of provenance or the correct Clouds Hill bookplate.

  • “Fake” bookplate
  • Genuine bookplate

A further thing to add here, is that A.W. Lawrence retained a few of the books, only disposing of them many years later when he was living near Pateley Bridge in Yorkshire and these do not have the Clouds Hill bookplate, but can usually be identified by other means of provenance and possibly the presence of a pencilled “TEL” or in books acquired after 1923 a “TES”. We know the titles of some of these books and have some details, but again it is caveat emptor. Three examples below are of the initials contained in books lacking any bookplate, the two on either side are taken from a notebook of the A.W. Lawrence books, the centre image is a first edition of D.H. Lawrence’s “The White Peacock.

“White Peacock” entry in “Friends”.

The catalogue in “Friends” is substantially complete, indicating the books present in Clouds Hill at the time of TE’s death. A copy of the 1937 “Friends” formerly in the possession of A.W. Lawrence contains pencil notes of a very few omissions and later communication from A.W. indicated that the 1926 “Seven Pillars” was removed for security reasons prior to the catalogue being compiled.

For more information on this topic view our earlier Blog below. T.E. Lawrence, Clouds Hill bookplates and Jacob Schwartz We will be delighted to hear thoughts and comments.

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Antiquarian Book News Fine Press T. E. Lawrence

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, A Triumph

“Subscribers’ ” or “Cranwell “ edition of 1926

One of 32 “Incomplete” copies signed and dated by T.E. Lawrence (Shaw).

Laid in “Some Notes on on the Writing of Seven Pillars of Wisdom” 1927 O’Brien A039 (c.200 copies distributed to Subscribers)

This is a copy of one of the 32 “Incomplete” copies given by TE to “people mentioned in the book, or people who had been officially or personally useful to the Arab Revolt” (O’Brien A040). This makes these 32 copies of particular significance. These copies are textually complete only lacking a number of the plates bound at the rear of all the volumes. There were 170 “complete” copies for subscribers and 32 bound as here in half leather by De Coverley that were signed as incomplete.

Altogether an attractive and fine copy, housed in a custom-made half morocco solander box that echoes the binding of the volume, made by award-winning binder Stephen Conway.

Printing History

The text and publication have a complex history and have been well documented. It can be summarised here:

Seven Pillars was commenced in January of 1919, and the completed parts of the manuscript being reputedly “lost” on Reading Station in November of that year. He then re-wrote the text under some strain to his mental state, reliving the harrowing experiences of his desert campaign, “I nearly went off my head in London this spring, heaving at that beastly book of mine”. In 1922 TE had eight copies set in 6pt linotype by newspaper compositors and printed at the Oxford Times, in double column and some 287 sheets, hence the term Oxford edition. These copies of this lengthy work, some one third longer than the later published text of 1926 and 1935, were printed on a newspaper proofing press. He then distributed copies to key friends for comment.

There then followed the editing of the text and the plan to produce the sumptuous limited edition issued to subscribers. The publishing and printing of the 1926 edition in a private edition was a long drawn out and complex process. Robin Buxton formerly of the Imperial Camel Corps and now a manager of the Liverpool & Martins Bank, assisted with the financing of the project. At a meeting with Lawrence, David G. Hogarth of the Ashmolean, Lionel Curtis of All Souls, Oxford and Alan Dawnay (another wartime colleague) were present, a scheme was agreed upon whereby 120 copies could be printed, with all of the planned illustrations, for sale at 30 guineas per copy. The Eric Kennington pastels were being printed by Whittingham & Griggs at the then enormous price of around ten shillings per print.

There is interesting correspondence between Lawrence and Buxton that throws light upon the financing of the volume. It was Eric Kennington who put Lawrence in contact with an American, Manning Pike, who was a newly qualified printer, to undertake the printing, he was later joined by an experienced pressman, Herbert Hodgson. To assist in financing the scheme Lawrence offered the publication of an abridgement, Revolt in the Desert to the publisher Jonathan Cape. This was a straightforward abridgement completed in a brief period whilst Lawrence was at Cranwell, published in 1927. It was to run to five editions before being withdrawn.

The final cost of the Subscribers’ edition totalled a staggering £13,000 equating to a cost of around £76 for each complete copy, or just over £100 for each subscribed copy. In fact 211 copies were printed, 170 complete and 32 incomplete and 9 sets of proof sheets “more or less defective”.

Lawrence decided upon binding the volumes in an individual manner and sent sheets to a number of top quality binders, these included, Mcleish, De Coverley, Best & Co, Sangorski & Sutcliffe, Notary Binders as well as a number of others.

Kennington endpapers

As the volume was completed in late 1926 and copies initialled and dated XII/26, with the final touches in place and just a few copies despatched, Lawrence arranged to be posted to India at the turn of the year leaving Manning Pike to send out the remainder of the large tomes.

Signed “TES”.

So, here is one of the great books of the twentieth century, that really needs to be seen and handled to be fully appreciated.

Although even TE like Homer occasionally nods. In a letter to John Buchan dated 1 XII 26 sending a copy for the Prime Minster, Stanley Baldwin, he states the volume will “have no future” whilst acknowledging that it is a “rarity”!

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“Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of her favours? -Faith, her privates we.” – Hamlet, Shakespeare

If you wish to read arguably the very best novel of World War I, then look no further than Frederic Manning (1882-1935) and the two versions of his magnum opus.

Born in Australia, writer Frederic Manning moved to England as a young man, firstly in 1898. He moved in literary and artistic circles and wrote his first two books with classical allusions, “The Vigil of Brunhild” (1906) and “Scenes and Portraits” (1909).  He enlisted during 1915 into the Shropshire Light Infantry, serving in France during 1916 as ‘Private 19022’ and it was here that he found material for the background to his classic novel which has given him enduring fame. Originally published anonymously by Peter Davies in 1929 under the imprint of Piazza Press, as two handsome volumes, “Middle Parts of Fortune”, this is a numbered edition of only 520 copies. It was then published in a trade edition by Peter Davies in a bowdlerized, single volume version, “Her Privates We” in 1930. The titles of both being derived from the quotation from Shakespeare. The work was praised by such notable figures as Ernest Hemingway and T. E. Lawrence who said of it: “No praise could be too sheer for this book…So loving, exact, delightful, inwardly and outwardly true, so generous, politically and morally and militarily…how admirable are its restraint, and humour, and vividness, the lovely weather, the lights and darknesses –  there are too many sides to the book for it ever to be forgotten… anyone would be proud to have written it.  It justifies every heat of praise. Its virtues will be recognised more and more as time goes on.”

The two volume “Middle Parts of Fortune” is indeed a handsome set, a delight to hold in the hand, modestly bound in cloth with marbled endpapers and a two-colour title page. A copy of this edition was in TE’s Clouds Hill Library and is listed in the catalogue printed in “T.E. Lawrence by his Friends” (1937).  Featured here is a presentation copy to Lorna Priscilla, Lady Trench-Gascoigne (nee Leatham) with a delightful inscription from Manning adding his regimental number and the words mentem mortalia tangent from Virgil’s Aeneid.

This title and the slightly later “Her Privates We” were published anonymously just giving this regimental number, Private 19022, as a clue to authorship.

Lorna Priscilla Leatham had served as a VAD on the Western Front in WWI and it was there that possibly they may have first met, although there were other links, including one via Manning’s mentor Arthur Galton. Whatever the link here it is a fascinating association copy.

T.E. Lawrence was to contact the publisher Peter Davies by telephone having identified the author from his reading of “Scenes and Portraits” and the style of the writing in both works, as well as being provided with a clue by J.G. Wilson of Bumpus. Davies made a now elusive, promotional brochure of the content of the telephone conversation and the book subsequently enjoyed great critical and commercial success. Peter Davies issued “Her Privates We” in a striking, if macabre binding, oatmeal cloth with a skeleton looking over the shoulder of a private soldier. Both this and a later edition of “Scenes and Portraits” were issued by Peter Davies in what are now exceedingly scarce, fragile glassine wrappers with printed paper turn-ins.

So here we have a series of books linking a number of interesting personalities, It was in February of 1935 that TE retired from the RAF and left Bridlington on a bicycle intending to visit Manning with whom he had become friends, who was living at Bourne in Lincolnshire. However, Manning had died of a respiratory disease on the 22nd February. Writing to Peter Davies, TE states; “On Tuesday I took my discharge from the R.A.F. and started southward by road, meaning to call at Bourne and see Manning: but today I turned eastward, instead, hearing that he was dead,” TE himself was to die in a motorcycle accident in May of the same year. The publisher, Peter Llewelyn Davies (1897-1960), had been identified by J.M. Barrie as the source for the famous character, Peter Pan in his 1904 play, providing him with an unlooked for immortality which he grew to dislike. He survived until 1960 when he was to throw himself under a tube train at Sloane Square Station. 

So, the characters in our tale have all now departed the stage, however they leave behind these bright mementos of their presence, illuminating a time and providing both tactile and telling signs of their continued presence in our world.

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Return to sender!

There is little that brings us closer to a person and their character than a personal letter, displaying a characteristic hand and turn of phrase. This can be true of anyone we may know or be interested in and the pieces of paper may become treasured items.

T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935) wrote a great many letters to a wide variety of people, both ordinary and famous. We have previously considered the published collections of his correspondence, from the early David Garnett volume through to the forensic editions from the Castle Hill Press. A study of these letters can provide invaluable insight into the thoughts, character and activities of TE and are vital for anyone studying the life and times of this enigmatic historical figure.

It is a truth of anyone that their correspondence provides a window, as it were, to their innermost character. This is certainly true of TE and despite the many published volumes, very many letters remain unpublished and these provide further insight to the man behind the ‘legend’. As a bonus the seeking out of these letters can provide a frisson of pleasure in the search for new and original material.

The physical letters themselves are remarkable artefacts, redolent of their time, sometimes with the very envelopes in which they were posted and the ink occasionally remaining almost fresh on the page. Like first editions, autograph letters are a means of getting close to a person, almost, if of course not quite, being able to reach out and touch them.

“(incomplete copies have no future in the second-hand market)”

This tantalizing, brief extract is contained in a fascinating letter to the author and politician John Buchan of ’The 39 Steps’ fame and is dated 1.XII.26, that magical date written in TE’s hand in each and every one of the “complete” and “incomplete” copies of the 1926 “Seven Pillars”. This note was in fact written just upon completion of the 1926 edition and prior to his embarkation to India. Amongst other comments the letter refers to the gift for the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, of one of the extremely rare “incomplete” 1926 “Seven Pillars” of which there were only 39 copies. As a financial forecaster of the future TE has not proved very reliable, as an “incomplete” copy has recently sold for just in excess of £35,000. It must be recalled that the only “incomplete” thing about these copies is the omission of a few of the plates. He also goes on to relate: “This is one of those which I am giving to the fellows who did the Arab Revolt with me.” Interestingly this is written on the reverse of a piece of 14 Barton Street notepaper, perhaps indicating where the letter was written.

“What a mercy Revolt is withdrawn”

This is a whale of a letter, two full A4 sides, dated 24.4.28 and written on thin paper from Drigh Road, Karachi, to his solicitor Edward Eliot. It is unpublished and largely unknown,  covering several fascinating threads including the proposed and eventually abortive Korda film. It also discusses a rather surprising proposal for the construction of swimming baths using ‘Revolt’ money that had been donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund, this pool was to be “for married families and officers” and TE even details a rota for its use.  At the end of the letter he states “(Indeed Revolt wasn’t a book at all. It was a sort of solvent of an overdraft: a financial instrument)”. The story of the survival and rediscovery of this now rather fragile document is a tale in itself. It was found in the drawer of a large, unloved mahogany sideboard at an open-air antique market. The drawer tipped out and three pieces of paper fluttered to the muddy ground, one an unrelated letter, an old French will and this splendid letter. They could have been trampled in the mud!

“I want it for the illustrations’ sake.”

This is taken from a letter written from Cattewater (soon to be Mount Batten) on 21.V.29  written to Mr Bain  of the well-known booksellers James Bain. The author Horace Walpole wrote a Foreword for ‘Bain: a bookseller looks back’ and has a splendid reminiscence regarding TE; “It was in the left-hand corner near the door that I once had a never-to-be-forgotten conversation with T.E. Lawrence, robed like a shadow in airman’s uniform.”

In the letter TE requests several interesting books, possibly for his own use or possibly for loan to other airmen at Cattewater. The actual quotation above though relates to a title called “War Birds” in which there are attractive illustrations, although he admired the book thinking it “worthwhile”, writing to Frederic Manning in 1930 he states, “War Birds is not literature but a raw sharp life”.

“Flying, and the progress of flying, is a very great interest of mine….”

This tantalising statement is contained in a rather mysterious letter, dated 5.1.33  to an unknown recipient: “Dear Madam” who had offered a form of “refuge”. He ends by saying that “the last ten years in the Air Force have been wholly delightful.” TE does not need anything further.

“Pat is my next-door neighbour and he and I have gone into partnership (Knowles & Shaw, very LTD) to build our respective shacks”

So, for a final peek at this selection of correspondence we choose two closely dated letters addressed to Albert Yarwood, at his shipbuilding company in Northwich, Cheshire. They even remain in their postal envelopes addressed and sealed by TE. In the letters, Lawrence refers to progress on H.M.S. Auxiliary Aquarius, “I’ve had letters from Singapore about the Aquarius, which seems to have been adopted as a Station Pet! If she does half what they ask of her, she will be a wonder ship. The only criticism so far is that she is a bit hot, in the engine room. So I suppose the poor old chief is still sweating! He’ll qualify for a jockey in two or three years time.”; he also discusses a new design of flooring for his cottage, Clouds Hill, in Dorset, where Yarwood supplied materials.

This tiny fragment of correspondence from TE, I trust, indicates the intimate nature of such things and these brief extracts have two dominant tropes, his interest and love of books and the RAF. Possibly, along with his motorcycling the most satisfying threads of his multi-skeined life. His correspondence is indeed well worthy of exploration. So, remember when searching out letters, “anything can be anywhere”.

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Book News Fine Press T. E. Lawrence

T.E. Lawrence and the bookseller.

The relationship between T.E. Lawrence (Shaw) with John G. Wilson (1876-1963) of Bumpus & Bumpus Ltd, then of 350 Oxford Street, whom Sir Basil Blackwell, in his DNB entry on Wilson, describes him as ‘the most famous English [sic] bookseller of his time’,  is of course well known and documented. The slight irony in Blackwell’s account is that Wilson was born in Glasgow! Wilson assisted in raising subscriptions for the elusive 1926 “Subscribers” edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom, indeed the order for a copy for King George V was placed via Bumpus (although TE subsequently refused to accept any payment for it) and following TE’s death in 1935, Wilson had a hand in the disposal of his  library from Clouds Hill. But it should be stated that neither Bumpus nor Wilson were in any way an “official” subscription agent for the Seven Pillars volume.

As well as his many other attributes and enthusiasms TE was an avid bibliophile and much less discussed is his relationship with booksellers other than Bumpus. This note focuses on one such, that with the London bookseller James Bain. The business was first established in 1816 at the rather prestigious address of Kings Mews Gate, moving in the 1820s to larger premises at No 1 Haymarket, and in 1901 they moved again to 14 Charles Street.

No 1 Haymarket.

By 1919 when we know TE visited the business it had moved yet again, this time to a shop at 14 King William Street. Throughout its various incarnations it remained within a close geographical proximity.

“Near the Door” Bain 14 King William Street.

In 1940 Macmillan published Bain, A bookseller looks back. In the book J.S. Bain recalls “On August 13th 1919, a slightly-built man of very youthful appearance came in and asked to look at a copy of the  folio edition of the Ashendene Press Dante, which happened to be in the window. Hearing that its price was fifty pounds he promptly bought it and gave his name T.E. Lawrence. This was the first transaction with “Lawrence of Arabia” and marked the beginning of an association which developed along the most friendly lines and lasted throughout his life”.

Bain relates that he was only “allowed” to buy a single copy of the 1926 Seven Pillars and noted their rapid increase in monetary value when only a few weeks after its distribution he had to pay £150 for a subsequent copy, the original subscription price being thirty guineas. An interesting aside, is that William de Coverley, who worked for Bain for many years eventually becoming a director, was a son of Roger de Coverley one of the bookbinders selected by TE to bind a number of copies of the 1926 Seven Pillars.

1926 Seven Pillars, de Coverley binding.

The author Horace Walpole wrote a Foreword for Bain, A bookseller looks back and has a splendid reminiscence regarding TE;

It was in the left-hand corner near the door that I once had a never-to-be-forgotten conversation with T.E. Lawrence, robed like a shadow in airman’s uniform.

This was one of a host of famous names that Walpole recalled meeting in Bain’s bookshop, surely reflecting the role of all good bookshops, the bringing together of diverse people.

There also survives a hand-written letter from TE, signed TE Shaw, to “Mr Bain” ordering some five books. The letter written from RAF Cattewater and dated 21.V.29 requests copies of David Garnett’s Lady into Fox, C.E. Montague’s Fiery Particles and Theodore Powys’s Mr Weston’s Good Wine, these obviously being reading copies as they are in the relatively inexpensive Pheonix Library editions. He also requests Memoirs of a Slave Trader by Theodore Canot, just published in 1929 and asks that Bain seeks out a first edition of War Birds for the illustrations.

Of these books, the first four are not listed as amongst the Clouds Hill books (see my earlier note) and may have been purchased as copies to lend out to other airmen, however Bain appears to have been successful in obtaining a War Birds published by Hamilton as this is included in the Clouds Hill library listed in Friends.

There is a first edition of David Garnett’s Lady into Fox in the Clouds Hill listing, David Garnett was the son of Edward Garnett, Jonathan Cape’s reader who was a friend and advised TE on his writings. David too became a friend and letters of his to TE survive commenting on Seven Pillars and The Mint. Lady into Fox was a bestseller in the 1920s winning the Hawthornden Prize and going on to many editions, still being in print to the present time.

It will be recalled that TE was posted to Cattewater or Mount Batten as it became, upon his return from India in 1929. It was to be a period that he recalled as a “Golden Reign” and was to set him upon perhaps the most satisfying part of his life, the assistance in developing the high-speed boats for use  by the R.A.F.

So here we have an intriguing glimpse into the bibliographical side of the life of TE reflecting as it does an attractive and interesting side of his character that resonates down the ages.

Interior of Bain’s bookshop 14 King William Street.
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A Volume from Clouds Hill

TE. Lawrence had from an early age a great love of books and he read, wrote and collected them throughout his life. In August of 1910 he had written to his mother;

Why cannot one make one’s books live except in the night, after hours of straining? And you know they have to be your own books too, and you have to read them more than once. I think they take on something of your personality, and your environment also – you know a second hand book sometimes is so much more flesh and blood than a new one – and it is almost terrible to think that your ideas, yourself in your books, may be giving life to generations of readers after you are forgotten.

Surely a “holy grail” for all T.E. Lawrence collectors and scholars is a book of TE’s that was in the cottage at Clouds Hill in 1935 at the time of his death.

These were catalogued for inclusion in “T.E. Lawrence by his Friends” in 1937, this is a comprehensive listing covering nearly all of the volumes. According to a letter from A.W. Lawrence, the catalogue was apparently undertaken by “2 professional librarians” and is complete except for a “second copy of Baring’s Per ardua left out by accident” and “A copy of  the SP 1926 edition moved for safety and not returned”.  Although, according to a unique copy of “Friends” annotated in pencil by A.W. there were seven other omissions, clearly noted in this particular volume, now in a private collection.

Following TE’s death the library was catalogued and photographed.  In the wonderfully clear original photographs that result, it is just possible, sometimes, to read an actual title sitting on the shelves. Without the presence of the books Clouds Hill was to appear rather barren and plain. A situation remedied to some extent by a display by Wing Commander Reggie Sims, a display itself now gone.

It was mainly due to the prevailing conditions at the cottage and concerns for security that the books were dispersed. Those that were sold through J.G. Wilson, proprietor of London booksellers J. & E. Bumpus Ltd, had a, now familiar, bookplate attached, although AW retained some few volumes and these do not contain the bookplate and were later sold by AW mainly when he left his Yorkshire home in the 1980s, on occasions these appear in commerce.

The bookplates themselves can cause confusion and as we detailed in another of our notes there are fake bookplates around so caveat emptor.

So, here is a genuine volume from the library at Clouds Hill. It is a biography; Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, by E.M. Forster, published by Edward Arnold & Co in 1934. It bears the correct bookplate and has added interest in a number of respects.

Frontispiece to book.
Catalogue entry for E.M. Forster’s books in ‘Friends’

Firstly it is by a great literary friend of TE’s, Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970), the renowned scholar and novelist. In addition we have a record of TE’s thoughts and feelings upon reading this very book, related in a letter to Forster dated 24. v. 34 from his lodgings at 13 Birmingham Street, Southampton:

Dear E.M.F., It is Thursday night, and I have just finished your life of G.L.D., upon which I have been  quietly happy for many evenings. In the daytime I run boats up and down the Solent (and shall do, for another month) and in the evening I try always to read a little.

Your book has been quite precious. The restraint, the beautiful tidiness of it, the subtlety, and its commonsense… your glorification of quiet and care for the average man…all these points lift it far above ordinary biography. It must have been hard to do, but seldom can an artist have so surely and confidently achieved his aim. The very care to avoid the unattainable is wisdom. Full marks to you. I wish I had known G.L.D.

I found pleasure in your wit widespread over the pages. The sentence ‘she forgave him’ is almost your best: not so quotable as the smoking-room chairs, but of greater style. I looked back at it three or four times as I read further, just for the pleasure of its finality.

Your quotations, where you quote so often, are quite beautifully inlaid into the texture. It is a very self-sacrificing book too. Very very good.

I am late telling you so: but I was away in Wolverhampton when I got the book, and my leisure for reading is now so small. March next, and I leave the R.A.F. for a boundless prospect of leisure at Clouds Hill. Let us try to meet then, Yours T.E.S.

We perhaps, hear a rather weary TE, busily involved in testing the five R.A.F. armoured target boats at Southampton The letter, (printed in David Garnett’s “Letters of T.E. Lawrence”, 1938 and in Jeremy and Nicole Wilson’s, “T.E. Lawrence Correspondence with E.M. Forster and F. L. Lucas”, 2010), takes us from his room at Southampton to Wolverhampton, where he had visited Henry Meadows Ltd the builders of the boat engines, each target boat having three. Then finally returning to Clouds Hill where his other books were now gathered together, patiently awaiting his return after lodging in a number of locations over the years. Regrettably, a return that was not to be ‘boundless’ but for all too short a time.  Perhaps not too surprising in a busy life he very slightly mis-quotes Forster, “she forgave him” actually reads, “she forgives him” p.161.

TE on an armoured boat in Bridlington Bay.

He wrote at least two other letters on the 24th May, one to Clare Sydney Smith of “The Golden Reign” period, now posted to Singapore and one to an RAF officer G.W.M. Dunn planning work for the following week.

Reading “T.E. Lawrence Boats for the R.A.F” published by Castle Hill Press in 2012 reveals the busy and in many ways satisfying time that TE was experiencing as he assisted in preparing the armoured target boats. A period of work that was very important to him and provided much satisfaction, often underestimated by some of his biographers.

So here is a fascinating association copy, providing a book that nestled at Clouds Hill, with the additional bonus of offering a glimpse into a brief period of TE’s life and thoughts.

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T.E. Lawrence, Clouds Hill bookplates and Jacob Schwartz

One always needs to look out for fakes and forgeries, although on occasion these have a fascination all of their own and can sometimes match or even surpass the interest of an original.

Here we would like to discuss two such instances in the field of  collecting T.E. Lawrence. The first relates to the books from what is known as the “Clouds Hill” library, these being the books that were in TE’s cottage at the time of his death in 1935. It is well known that these are catalogued in “T.E. Lawrence by His Friends” and this section of the volume may indeed lend itself to being used as a kind of “faker’s bible”. The books were mainly widely dispersed by A.W. Lawrence and the majority bear a small bookplate to identify them. However, there are books around with a “fake” or  ”second state” bookplate, possibly prepared by a bookseller. I have had through my hands the same title, one with a good bookplate and the other with a “second state” or “fake”. I have never come across a provenanced “Clouds Hill” volume, bearing a “fake” bookplate. The fortunate thing is that the bookplates are easy to tell apart, if you have seen them before, so do not be taken in.

Genuine bookplate.
“Fake” or “second state” bookplate.

The other thing to add is that A.W. Lawrence retained a few of the books, only disposing of them many years later and these do not have the bookplate but can usually be identified by other means of provenance.

A more entertaining and possibly contentious item is the so called “Schwartz Packet”. So called after an American, but London based bookdealer and bibliophile, who was mainly active in the 1930s from his Ulysses bookshop. This is Jacob Schwartz, who was apparently a charismatic character, perhaps mostly remembered, if at all now, as an authority on James Joyce material and the compiler of “1100 Obscure Points” a bibliophile’s handbook.

He was probably the owner, and certainly close to the item of TE interest here mentioned: it comprises three manuscript pages, of T.E. Lawrence’s study of James Elroy Flecker, written in black ink, on thin typing paper, the actual paper purporting to be re-used transcripts of letters from Hussein Ibn Ali and General Wilson. These sheets have been splendidly bound in quarter leather by renowned binders Sangorski and Sutcliffe, in a style that fits with the Golden Cockerel Press TE volumes. Presumably, this binding was commissioned by Schwartz to enhance and preserve the pages and improve their saleability.

Supposedly written in the 1920s by TE, if a forgery this was skilfully undertaken and deserves further research. The paper they are written on was apparently used to provide corroborating evidence, although possibly a little unconvincing in their content. Using the same method, the compiler also inserts a loose letter purporting to be from Lord Stamfordham with a  two-line note supposedly in TE’s hand at the foot.

“Schwartz” copy

A comparison with the facsimile contained in one of the thirty copies of the special Golden Cockerel Press edition of Men in Print of 1940 indicates some minor discrepancies that may give the “Scwartz” item away or possibly indicate a different version, it does not appear as a straightforward tracing?

Golden Cockerel Press facsimile from special of “Men in Print”.

Whatever, TE’s brother A.W. Lawrence decidedly took against the manuscript and the enclosure, noting on the letter: The above two lines of writing are not in my brother’s hand & no such note appears on the original holograph letter in my possession from which this copy was typed after the death of T.E. Lawrence. A.W. Lawrence May 11, 1938.

He was apparently also equally unimpressed with the three pages of manuscript and Ed Maggs tells me that he has seen a letter written to Mrs Flecker dated January 1938 where AW states, I found a manuscript about your husband among my brother’s papers and had it typed by a man who took the opportunity to trace the original and sell his tracing to a dealer as being a genuine document. In addition, AW inscribes the first blank of the bound manuscript to a similar effect.

He obviously had for whatever the reason felt so strongly about this matter that he insisted the manuscript and letter be sealed and stored with his solicitor, indeed the whole beautifully bound volume and related material still remains housed in a stout legal envelope sealed with red wax and elaborately signed by both Jacob Schwartz and AW over the seals.

Schwartz Packet with seals and signatures.

Now all this begs a number of points; why did AW go to such apparently elaborate lengths to have the pages sealed and signed with wax and stored at his solicitors rather than have them destroyed. Surely with his opinion of them this would have been a safer course of action rather than leave them for posterity.

This TE account of James Elroy Flecker has an interesting history in itself. In a letter of 27.IV.27 to E.M. Forster TE writes; Lets be exact. My note on Flecker was written one wet Sunday in Clouds Hill . Since light was vouchsafed to me I have written no more. My writing isn’t good. It was first published by the Corvinus Press in 1937 in a tiny edition of just 32 copies, there was also a small American printing that year to protect copyright that was not for sale or circulation. These editions followed the manuscript but contained a number of mis-readings and mistaken editorial changes, in what David Garnett terms, a corrupt text. Viscount Carlow annotates a copy; This book was printed to cover the copyright of certain documents that were stolen. No copies are in general circulation. So here is a slightly different account of the manuscript to that given by AW elsewhere. It seems that the events around this manuscript led to the desire to publish in a limited way to protect copyright.

In 1940 A. W. Lawrence published an edited and reduced text in the Golden Cockerel Press edition of “Men in Print”, itself an edition of only 500 copies, 30 being specials with the facsimile and with a note that sets out the basis for AW’s version. He also provides Hellé Flecker’s opinion of the text. Her statement that Flecker showed no Jewish traits is, perhaps, understandable at that date, since the population of Greece, her native country, was under threat from Nazi Germany. A Jewish connection might have put members of her family in danger. So as can be seen the text was at this time rather contentious and there are reasons that AW may not have wanted copies of the original text too readily available. It is only in recent times being made more generally available in reprint format, first by M. Valentine in 1988 and later (1992) in a facsimile version of the Corvinus Press edition.

So, the moral of these tales is surely Caveat Emptor, but do not always take things quite at face value, there are always stories to uncover and things may not always be just as they seem.

Thanks for assistance in putting this together to Ed Maggs and for further information on Jacob Schwartz see William S. Brockman, “Jacob Schwartz – The Fly in the Honey” contained in Joyce Studies Annual  1998. See also “The Corvinus Press, A History and Bibliography” by Paul W. Nash and A.J. Flavell. 1994. However, the interpretation , such as it is, is all mine!

I will welcome thoughts and comments.