The Home Letters of T. E. Lawrence and His Brothers by T. E. Lawrence, with an Introduction and Allocution by Winston S. Churchill - 1954

New York: The Macmillan Company , 1954. First U.S. edition. Hardcover. This is a jacketed copy of the first state of the first American edition. Per OBrien (A247), the binding and dust jacket are both identical to those of the first English edition, featuring the English publishers name Blackwell on the jacket and binding spines. The sheets are also from the British publisher, the first state of the American edition denoted by the title page (featuring the name of the U.S. publisher, The Macmillan Company) being tipped onto a stub of original English edition title page.

Condition is near fine in a very good plus dust jacket. The navy cloth binding is unfaded, clean, square, and tight with sharp corners and bright spine gilt. We note only a few trivial blemishes and a touch of wrinkling at the spine ends. The contents are likewise clean with no previous ownership marks. A hint of spotting appears confined to the endpapers and page edges, which also show mild age-toning. Apart from a neatly price-clipped lower front flap (consonant with the English dust jacket being applied to an American first edition), the jacket is complete. The spine shows mild toning with short closed tears at the upper and lower rear joint and the upper rear flap fold and very light overall soiling. The jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.

This collection of letters, edited by Lawrences brother, supplements the David Garnett collection (The Letters of T. E. Lawrence of Arabia) of 1938. The letters included here for the most part cover his early years; fully two thirds of those included are from before the [First World] war The letters of his brothers Frank and Will, both of whom died in the First World War, are also included. The whole reflects what was a truly remarkable family. This collection is a primary source for the pre-war correspondence of Lawrence. (OBrien)

This book is notable to Churchill collectors for featuring two contributions from Winston S. Churchill - a one-page introduction from then Prime Minister Churchill dated 4 March 1954 on 10 Downing Street stationery and the four-page address given by Churchill in 1936 when he unveiled Lawrence's Memorial at Oxford. Of the address, Churchill states: "Mrs. Lawrence has sought my permission to print, as an introduction to the Home Letters of the most famous of her sons, the words which I spoke when I unveiled his Memorial at his old school in Oxford in 1936; and I readily give my consent. Eighteen years have passed since those words were spoken, but now, pondering them again, I find not one to alter. The vast perils and catastrophes of the years between have not dimmed the splendour of his fame, nor blurred the impress of his personality upon the memory of his friends.

T.E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill were distinctly different in temperament, character, and the ways in which their respective brilliance shaped their time and legacy. Nonetheless, they developed a genuine and mutual affection, loyalty, and respect. After the first World War, Britain played a key role in shaping what was to become the political landscape of the modern Middle East. In 1920, Prime Minister David Lloyd George entrusted this responsibility to the brilliant, volatile, and ambitious Winston Churchill (partly at the private recommendation of T.E. Lawrence). Churchill immediately pressed Lawrence to become his political adviser and emissary to the Arabs. An initially reluctant Lawrence accepted. The resulting collaboration did much to shape the Middle East as we know it today. When Lawrence died, Churchill was among those at the small ceremony and was reportedly moved to tears.

Reference: O'Brien A247, Cohen B145.2.a