Crusader Castles - I. The Thesis & II. The Letters -
T. E. Lawrence
1936 - The Golden Cockerel Press, London - Number 924 of 1000 copies
‘I will have such difficulty in becoming English again: here I am Arab in habits, and slip in talking from English to French and Arabic unnoticing.'
T. E. Lawrence travelled through Britain, France, Syria and Palestine to research his undergraduate thesis on ‘The Influence of the Crusades on European Military Architecture to the End of the Twelfth Century’. Lawrence’s brilliant observations have since been confirmed by modern research. Moreover, the thesis and correspondence that make up Crusader Castles give us an insight into both Lawrence’s fascination with the Crusades and his origins as an adventurer.
After visiting the major sites in England and Wales, Lawrence crossed Ottoman-controlled Syria on foot and by bicycle. He wanted to prove that, contrary to the received wisdom of the time, the castles built by the Normans during their campaigns were not influenced by Byzantine architecture, but conformed to a purely Western model. In 1909, Syria and the Holy Land were remote and dangerous destinations, and few historians had actually seen a crusader castle. His 1,100-mile journey was arduous in the extreme, but Lawrence succeeded in seeing 36 of the 50 castles on his itinerary.
Finely bound first editions, number 924 of a limited 1,000 copies, illustrated throughout with numerous plates, and facsimiles, maps and plans, including two large loose maps in separate sleeve. ‘Everybody thinks I am mad to walk, and the escort offered me a mount on the average once a half-hour … in parts of my journey I seem to have been the first European visitor’
The letters home express his thrill at travelling incognito and immersing himself in Arabic culture.
‘I will have such difficulty in becoming English again: here I am Arab in habits, and slip in talking from English to French and Arabic unnoticing.'
Provenance: With the armourial bookplates of Herbert McGlennon.
Golden Cockerel Press pushed hard to set a precedent as the publisher of Lawrence’s lesser known works, and in doing so departed from their limitation of 500 copies and the high standard of artistic endeavor for which they had become well known, so much so that in his introduction, A. W. Lawrence states in the introduction that he had made departures ‘from the Golden Cockerel concept of book production. The Press wishes it to be appreciated that it does not advocate this treatment, and has agreed to issue the book in this way only with reluctance.’ This seems a little harsh considering the still high standards the books where printed and the Sangorski & Sutcliffe bindings.
Reference: O'Brien, T.E. Lawrence: A Bibliography, A188, A189.
Two quarto volumes (binding25.6x19.7cm), pp. [2] 56 [2]; [2] 62 [2]. Plates not included in pagination. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in half tan morocco over beige cloth boards, spine in six compartments, lettering and cockerel motif in gilt, with top edges gilt, other edges uncut. Condition: Fine but for some toning marks to endpapers, loose folder for maps is foxed, maps are clean, in near fine bindings with some gentle toning and rubbing. Ref: 112530 Price: HK$ 20,000
T. E. Lawrence travelled through Britain, France, Syria and Palestine to research his undergraduate thesis on ‘The Influence of the Crusades on European Military Architecture to the End of the Twelfth Century’. Lawrence’s brilliant observations have since been confirmed by modern research. Moreover, the thesis and correspondence that make up Crusader Castles give us an insight into both Lawrence’s fascination with the Crusades and his origins as an adventurer.
After visiting the major sites in England and Wales, Lawrence crossed Ottoman-controlled Syria on foot and by bicycle. He wanted to prove that, contrary to the received wisdom of the time, the castles built by the Normans during their campaigns were not influenced by Byzantine architecture, but conformed to a purely Western model. In 1909, Syria and the Holy Land were remote and dangerous destinations, and few historians had actually seen a crusader castle. His 1,100-mile journey was arduous in the extreme, but Lawrence succeeded in seeing 36 of the 50 castles on his itinerary.
Finely bound first editions, number 924 of a limited 1,000 copies, illustrated throughout with numerous plates, and facsimiles, maps and plans, including two large loose maps in separate sleeve. ‘Everybody thinks I am mad to walk, and the escort offered me a mount on the average once a half-hour … in parts of my journey I seem to have been the first European visitor’
The letters home express his thrill at travelling incognito and immersing himself in Arabic culture.
‘I will have such difficulty in becoming English again: here I am Arab in habits, and slip in talking from English to French and Arabic unnoticing.'
Provenance: With the armourial bookplates of Herbert McGlennon.
Golden Cockerel Press pushed hard to set a precedent as the publisher of Lawrence’s lesser known works, and in doing so departed from their limitation of 500 copies and the high standard of artistic endeavor for which they had become well known, so much so that in his introduction, A. W. Lawrence states in the introduction that he had made departures ‘from the Golden Cockerel concept of book production. The Press wishes it to be appreciated that it does not advocate this treatment, and has agreed to issue the book in this way only with reluctance.’ This seems a little harsh considering the still high standards the books where printed and the Sangorski & Sutcliffe bindings.
Reference: O'Brien, T.E. Lawrence: A Bibliography, A188, A189.
Two quarto volumes (binding25.6x19.7cm), pp. [2] 56 [2]; [2] 62 [2]. Plates not included in pagination. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in half tan morocco over beige cloth boards, spine in six compartments, lettering and cockerel motif in gilt, with top edges gilt, other edges uncut. Condition: Fine but for some toning marks to endpapers, loose folder for maps is foxed, maps are clean, in near fine bindings with some gentle toning and rubbing. Ref: 112530 Price: HK$ 20,000