Letters to E. T. Leeds; edited and with an Introduction by J. M. Wilson | with a memoir of E. T. Leeds by D. B. Harden | & illustrated with line drawings by Richard Kennedy

Quarto, 11 1/8 x 8 inches (280 x 200 mm); xxiii, 140, (1) pp. Line-block reproductions of ten drawings by Richard Kennedy and three diagrams by T. E. Lawrence; and lithographic reproductions of twenty-five halftone illustrations. Machine-set in 14-point Monotype Caslon and printed in black and brown on Zerkall cream smooth laid paper. Quarter-bound in brown buckram by The Fine Bindery, gilt spine titling, Strathmore Artlaid Nutmeg paper-covered boards, with a drawing from the text printed in brown on the front. Headbands, top edge reddish-brown. Strathmore Artlaid Rust endpapers. Colorplan Bagdad Brown paper-covered slipcase, reinforced with brown cloth at the head and foot. Copy 110 of 650 copies Loosely inserted are a subscription card and the INVITATION to the book launch party at Maggs Bros. Ltd. in London, printed on a single folded sheet in black and brown, with an illustration from the book on the front panel. [Butcher 94]. A substantial and thoughtfully produced volume, presenting a rich body of correspondence that illuminates both the intellectual formation and personal character of T. E. Lawrence. The fifty-three letters to the archaeologist E. T. Leeds span Lawrence's early years at Carchemish-where he worked on British Museum excavations-through the First World War and up to the final months of his life. Interwoven with Leeds's unpublished memoir and supported by J. M. Wilson's editorial commentary, the text offers valuable insight into Lawrence's archaeological work, wartime experience, and reflective later years. The inclusion of photographs taken by Lawrence, facsimiles of letters, and Richard Kennedy's evocative drawings (based on sketches he made in Syria) enhances the documentary and visual richness of the volume. Designed in conscious homage to The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, with Caslon type and generous proportions, this is both an important scholarly contribution and a finely executed private press book. The additional ephemera relating to the Maggs Bros. launch further enhances its appeal to collectors. Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935), widely known as "Lawrence of Arabia," was a British archaeologist, military officer, and writer. Before gaining fame for his role in the Arab Revolt during the First World War, he worked as an archaeologist in the Middle East, notably at Carchemish in present-day Syria. His wartime experiences informed his celebrated account The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. After the war, Lawrence sought relative obscurity, serving under assumed names in the Royal Air Force and the Tank Corps while continuing to write and correspond. His complex personality, literary talent, and dramatic life have made him one of the most enduring figures of twentieth-century British history. …