London: Jonathan Cape, 1935. First trade edition.
Octavo. Original rust-red cloth, gilt spine lettering, crossed-swords device gilt to upper board. In the original oatmeal dust jacket, lettered in black. Complete and unabridged.
A remarkably well-preserved copy of Lawrence’s monumental account of the Arab Revolt and his wartime campaigns, one of the greatest works of twentieth-century English literature. The cloth is fresh and unfaded; the dust jacket, notoriously prone to heavy wear and almost always found chipped or defective, here survives complete and in outstanding condition, an exceptional rarity on the market.
Internally crisp and unmarked. Laid in is the very scarce “Lawrence of Arabia Memorial” insert, a four-page leaflet prepared after Lawrence’s death in 1935 and distributed at memorial services. This ephemeral piece is seldom encountered, and its survival with the book makes this example particularly desirable.
The 1935 Jonathan Cape edition was the first version issued to the general public, following the legendary 1926 “Subscribers’ Edition.” Complete, unabridged, and handsomely produced, it remains the definitive trade edition of Lawrence’s masterpiece.
Condition: Near fine in an exceptionally well-preserved dust jacket; memorial leaflet fine, lightly toned.
A superb copy — rare in jacket, rarer still in this condition, and virtually unheard of with the memorial insert present.
