LAWRENCE, T. E. (trans.); HOMER.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Odyssey of Homer. First Lawrence of Arabia edition, one of 530 copies only, this copy signed by Lawrence at the end of the text and by the printer Bruce Rogers on the colophon. Signed copies are rare and not called for."Inspired by reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Bruce Rogers persuaded Lawrence to undertake a new translation of The Odyssey. Begun in 1928 and published in 1932, the translation was undertaken during Lawrence's free time while serving in the ranks" (O'Brien). The result was a magnificent production of book design that has been described as among "the most beautiful books of all time" (Blumenthal, p. 65). Lawrence said of the celebrated printer Bruce Rogers (1870-1957), "I have long admired B R's work from ground level... I've never met him, but you know, and he knows, that he's the ideal of all those who have tried to produce books" (quoted in Ransome, pp. 143-4). Rogers, in turn, described Lawrence as "the very man to do a new translation of the greatest of all travel books" (The Observer, 28 October 1934).

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