Revolt in the Desert
London: Jonathan Cape, 1927. Quarto, original tan-coloured cloth, spine embossed with gilt lettering, [i], 446 pp., portrait frontispiece, 15 black-and-white plates of artworks, one folding map included. Spine ends bumped, fore-edges of covers are lightly buckled and watermarked, light spotting on top edge of text block, foxing on all edges of text block, leaves unevenly trimmed, browning on free endpapers, very light spotting on half-title page, fold-out map has a small localised tear at the lower edge where it meets the binding without loss of text, "M. T. A. Umphelby" stamped on front free endpaper in small grey font, small "A. H. Spencer" (bookseller) sticker on inside lower-left corner of front cover; otherwise a very good copy. Fifth impression of First English edition. Revolt in the Desert is the only version of Seven Pillars of Wisdom published in Lawrence's lifetime. The full version was distributed by subscription only, but due to financial pressures, Lawrence made the decision to trim down his masterwork and publish it for the public, to great success.
Although shorter, Revolt in the Desert details Lawrence's experiences serving as a British military advisor during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Also included are 15 of the iconic portrait plates of charcoal drawings by artists Augustus John, W. Roberts, Cosmo Clark and Eric Kennington. O'Brien, A102 (fifth impression). Item #4830
Price (AUD): $170.00