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Gideon and his Fleece, A depiction of late 15th century armour

The study of medieval armour uses many sources, amongst the most informative for fifteenth century armour are principally the sculptured and latten (brass) representations on tombs across Europe. We are also fortunate to have a small number of surviving examples of armour (principally helmets) from the period, many deposited in churches connected to monuments as heraldic achievements or as votive offerings. However, a further highly significant resource are the references to and depiction of armour in contemporary manuscript sources. These have long been used to good effect by writers on armour, a pioneer of this being John Hewitt in the nineteenth century(1). Also from the fifteenth century we are fortunate to have finely detailed examples of manuscript illustrations depicting armour in some intricate detail. Some of these will be briefly discussed below.

The particular subject of this note is a previously un-noted, delicately executed illustration on parchment, showing Gideon and his fleece (sheep-skin), in a small oval topped miniature, surviving from the corner piece of a decorated border of a large choir book or Gradual, a chant or hymn in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist. It has been cut from the volume in the 19th century and trimmed down. It shows Gideon dressed as a young man in a detailed and correct representation of late 15th century armour. He is kneeling and gazing at the sky as a blue-winged angel descends towards him holding a ribbon shaped scroll, his fleece, helm and shield lie before him, behind is a landscape. The fragment now has a thin wooden frame, is rubbed, with small tear to lower left hand edge, six small pinpricks can be seen to the reverse around the angel. The size is small, 134mm by 80mm.

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The original substantial manuscript was illuminated for Ferdinand of Aragon (1452-1516) and his wife Isabella of Castile (1451-1504), joint rulers of a united Spain, the ‘Catholic Monarchs’, patrons of Christopher Columbus, founders of the Inquisition. Based on the heraldry on other surviving pieces, the manuscript can be dated to before the conquest of Granada in 1492 and from the style of the armour and by comparison with other objects a date to the late 1470s to mid 1480s appears likely. The original choir book was presented by Ferdinand and Isabella to the Dominican convent of Santo Tomás Aquino, in Ávila, in Old Castile, founded in 1478 and still in existence. Ferdinand and Isabella endowed it massively and paid for the construction of the convent’s chapel, built between 1482 and 1493. Their only son, Prince Juan, was buried there and has a splendid effigial tomb, the first Grand Inquisitor, Tomás de Torquemada (d.1498) was also buried within the chapel. The enormous royal Gradual created at this time, probably for the chapel remained on view for almost 400 years at the building. 

In the nineteenth century the Gradual came into the possession of Manuel Rico y Sinobias, (1819-1898), Doctor of Medicine and Physical Sciences at the Central University of Madrid and something of a manuscript collector, who dismembered it, cutting out miniatures and distributing leaves. Some cuttings are in the Museo Arqueológico in Madrid (2) Two were acquired in 1918 by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, MS.293 a-b. (3) Another has been acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library from Professor J.J.G. Alexander, now their M. 1141. Finally, two leaves appeared in Pirages, Cat.51 (2004), no.72, illustrated in colour, sold and cut up by the buyer into smaller pieces. Others pieces have come on to the market at various times and some can be traced in the Museo Arqueológico in Madrid. (4) Bordona, (5) describes the manuscript as “one of the most sumptuous and artistic series of choir-books in all Spain”, and he tentatively ascribes them to the royal illuminator Juan de Carrion, documented in Ávila from the 1470s. Although the present image is rather rubbed and mutilated, the detail of the illumination and the quality of its execution are abundantly clear.

The known provenance of the “Gideon” fragment is as follows:
1 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile c1482.

2 The Dominican Convent of Santo Thomas Aquino , Avila c 1490.

3 Bought by Manuel Rico y Sinobias 1819-1898 (scientist and bibliophile)  who cut up the manuscript.

4 This particular cutting, Pirages Auction House 2004 bought by Bruce Ferrini (dealer of Medieval and Rennaissance Manuscripts, Ohio USA).

5 Auction in the UK to private collector.

The story of Gideon and the fleece comes from the Old Testament, Judges 6,7;

“And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.” Judges 6:36-40.

In the image we can see Gideon kneeling in prayer, looking more like a knight from an Arthurian quest by Malory than an Old Testament military leader and prophet. He is shown clad in full armour, possibly of an Italianate style, although this is obviously a Spanish depiction of the subject matter. In his article on Spanish armour, Mann (6) says that from the mid-15th century “the tombs of the wealthy show Milanese armours”. Although it must be said that armour in the 15th century was developed across Europe with much cross fertilisation of styles. Here it is finely shown with pauldrons protecting the shoulders and elaborate couters at the elbow, his neck protected by  a dagged edged standard of mail with a further dagged pattern on the mail depending from the bottom of the lower lames of his body armour. These features bear comparison to effigial monuments in England and the continent (7). His hands, which are in prayer are bare although his armoured gauntlets may just possibly be seen on the shield next to the helm. His legs are fully armoured although his feet appear to be clad in soft shoes rather than armoured sabatons. At his belt he wears a sword, rather corresponding to Oakeshott’s (8) Type XVIIIa, especially 6 &7. His helm is a form of sallet with raised visor and small feathered plume, this is placed on the floor before him. He has cast his shield, which is a‘bouché (that is with the cut out for a lance rest), to one side and it lies face down showing the carrying straps to the inside. His Fleece is laid upon the grass as indicated in the account in the Bible. The landscape in which he kneels is surrounded by greenery with a wooded rocky hill to the left, surrounding what seems to be a walled town; in the distance appears a towered building. A blue winged angel finely drawn is above holding a scroll bearing an inscription now too rubbed to read in full.

Detail; Sallet with plume and visor
Detail; Shield; a’bouche , showing carrying straps

Despite obviously being from a different national background and artist, in attempting to find comparable images of delicately drawn accurate 15th century armour one might look to the Rous Roll (9) and the Beauchamp Pageant (10). Both of these manuscripts can be firmly dated to the mid-1480s and both artists show a familiarity with the detail of armour as does the artist of the fragment discussed here. In particular from the Beauchamp Pageant we might look at a detail of fo12b showing Richard Beauchamp being armed in what appears to be a comparable armour. If we look at the Rous Roll we see the figure of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick “The Kingmaker”(1428-1471) but of course drawn in the later 1480s again in a comparable armour contemporary to the 1480s with similar sallet and shield a’bouche. This image was adapted by the Arms and Armour Society for its badge.

As an aside, an Order of the Golden Fleece was established in Burgundy in 1430 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy generally said to be based on the story from the classical period, of Jason and his golden fleece. With its considered pagan origin the Bishop of Châlons, chancellor of the Order, identified it instead with the fleece of the biblical Gideon, that received the dew of Heaven. Mirroring somewhat the Order of the Garter the Order of the Golden Fleece contained a limited number of knights, initially 24 but increasing to 30 in 1433 and 50 in 1516 plus of course the Duke. It had an elaborate collar with a pendant of the Fleece.

References

1 John Hewitt, Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe from the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the end of the Seventeenth Century with illustrations from Contemporary Monuments, 3 Volumes, London, 1855-60.

2 Bordon, J.D., Exposición de códices miniados Española’s, Catálogo, Madrid, 1929, nos. CIV-CVII and fig 68. 

3 Wormald and Giles, Descriptive Catalogue, 1982, I, pp.269-70). Leaves appeared in the Mettler sale, Mensing, 22 November 1929, lot 98, with full-page plate, and in H.P. Kraus, cat.112 (1965), no.45, with colour frontispiece. J.D. Bordona, Spanish Illumination, 1930, pl.141, describes one leaf then in private hands in Madrid. There is a cutting in Austria (cf. F.G. Zeileis, ‘Più ridon le carte’, Buchmalerei aus Mittelalter und Renaissance, II, 2002, citing and illustrating examples for comparison on pp.414-5. 

4 Exposición de codices miniados Españoles, 1929, nos. civ-cvii and fig. 68) and the Zeileis collection (see Più Ridon le carte, II, 2002, pp. 414-15).

5. Bordona, J.D. Op.cit, p.61.

6 Mann, J.G.: a series of articles in Archaeologia, particularly; Notes on the Armour worn in Spain from the Tenth to the Fifteenth Century, Archaeologia 83 (1933) pp. 285-305, The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Grazia with Notes on the Collection of Italian Armour during the 15th Century, Archaeologia, 80 (1930), pp.117-142 and ‘A Further Account of the Armour preserved in the Madonna della Grazia’, Archaeologia, 87 (1938), pp. 311-351.

7 For a full account of the detail of the armour from this period see; Capwell, Tobias, Armour of the English Knight 1450-1500, London, 2021.

8 Oakeshott, Ewart, Record of the Medieval sword, London, 1991.

9.Rous, John, The Rous Roll, London, 1859, reprinted with a new Introduction by Charles Ross which makes no mention of armour, The Rous Roll, Gloucester, 1980. The original manuscript Rous Roll is British Library Additional MS 48976. This manuscript shows a number of historical figures including some in contemporary late 15th century armour.

10 Sinclair, Alexander, (ed.), The Beauchamp Pageant, Donington, 2003. The original British Library MS is Cotton MS Julius EIV. This too shows late 15th century armour. But f .12v shows Richard Beauchamp dressing in armour, the armour of course an anachronism to the period shown of Henry V, being a later 15th century armour. Other folios show similar armours, notably see f .4v and f. 25.

The author thanks Geoffrey Wheeler for his assistance.

Richard Knowles FSA.

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Antiquarian Book News Fine Press First Editions Rickaro Books T. E. Lawrence

The 1976 Scolar Press William Caxton facsimiles

Incunabula, is the plural of the Latin word incunabulum, a cradle, in bibliographical terms it refers to the cradle of printing, an early printed book, especially one printed before 1501.

It was in 1976 that the Scolar Press produced three facsimile volumes to mark the 500 years since 1476 when Caxton returned to England and set up the first printing shop in England, close to Westminster Abbey. From here he issued over a hundred books between 1476 and 1492, which was the year of his death. Having initially been involved in commerce in London he then moved to Bruges, the centre of the wool trade, where he operated from and had connections with the Yorkist dynasty. It was in fact at the request of the Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV, that he translated The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. Caxton was the first person to bring printing to England, initially having royal and aristocratic patronage that to some extent influenced the volumes that he both edited and printed, however he appears to have had a real eye for sales, being a bookseller as well as publisher and found support from the merchant and ecclesiastical classes.

There were three titles chosen to be produced by Scolar Press in facsimiles and these are indeed handsome volumes worthy of the quincentenary. Significantly limited to just 500 numbered copies each, they have themselves become highly collectable items. They are bound in a rough linen cloth with a brown leather title label that really suits the period feel of these volumes. Of the five hundred limitation fifty copies were bound in full leather by the Eddington bindery.

The three original volumes all date to the 1480s, that period of strife in England between the death of Edward IV in 1483 and the usurpation and death at Bosworth of Richard III in 1485. This period of political turmoil meant that Caxton tended to move away from his aristocratic patrons and operate more independently, creating volumes that were being asked for. Many noble and dyuers gentylmen of thys royame of England camen and demaunded me many and oftymes…

The three volumes are in chronological order as follows:

The Game and Playe of Chesse, 1483 is reproduced in facsimile from the copy at Trinity College, Cambridge. The second edition with woodcuts, the first being dated 1474.  Although it bears the title, The Game and Playe of the Chesse it should not be regarded as an instructional book on Chess. It is in fact a translation of Jacobus de Cessolis’ thirteenth-century political treatise, the Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium ac popularium super ludo scachorum (The Book of the Morals of Men and the Duties of Nobles and Commoners, on the Game of Chess).

The History and Fables of Æsop, 1483 is reproduced from the unique copy in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle. This volume contains a Life of Æsop and is illustrated with woodcuts, the translation by Caxton from Macho’s 1482 French edition.

This is a facsimile of the Pierpont Morgan Library copy of Caxton’s Morte d’Arthur, 1485, the only surviving complete copy. (A nearly complete copy is kept at the Rylands Library, Manchester and a single leaf was at Lincoln Cathedral.) The facsimile has a preface discussing and illustrating the watermarks in the Pierpont Morgan Library copy. If one wishes to own a copy the facsimile is probably as close as anyone can aspire, unless in an unlikely event, a third copy should be discovered! It was an interesting time for Caxton to edit and print Thomas Malory’s tales of chivalry, a time of political turmoil and conflict, so it is perhaps fitting that in his Prologue he entreats; And I, accordyng to my copye, haue doon sette it in enprynte to the entente that noble men may see and lerne the noble actes of chyualrye, the jentyl and vertuous dedes that somme knyghtes vsed in thos dayes, by whyche they came to honour, and how they that were vycious were punysshed and ofte put to shame and rebuke, humbly bysechyng al noble lordes and ladyes wyth al other estates of what estate or degree they been of, that shal see and rede in this sayd book and werke, thagh they take the good and honest actes in their remembraunce, and to folowe the same; wherein they shalle fynde many joyous and playsaunt hystoryes and noble and renomena actes of humanyte, gentylnesse, and chyualryes. 

There is a curious and much debated point contained within Chapter V on the Roman War rewritten by Caxton for his 1485 edition. It has to be stated that there are many academic debates around the text of the rediscovered “Winchester” manuscript and the Caxton edition. The significant point here is that the printing of the Caxton edition was completed on the last day of July, as stated in the Epilogue, seven days before Henry Tudor landed at Milford Haven and just a few weeks before Bosworth. An article by P.C.J. Field in The Arthurian of 1995 on the “Roman War”, the well-known chapter fully revised by Caxton, raises this matter. Field reported an interesting alteration to the text between the “Winchester” and “Caxton” versions, which he states could have been made only by Caxton. The bear –som tyraunte that turmentis thy peplem– in Winchester (Malory, 1976b: 75v) is killed by a dragon that represents King Arthur, but in the Caxton edition, the ‘bear’ is turned into a ‘boar’ some six times. Field states: “The change must have been deliberate, and it created a bold political allusion: the boar was the badge of King Richard III and the dragon that of Henry Tudor. The allusion would only have made sense in or just before 1485 and it is difficult to see who could have been responsible for it but Caxton himself”. (Field, 1995: 37). This particular statement is complicated to understand, why would this only have made sense before 1485, surely it would have been truer and safer to state after Bosworth? The change from “bear” to “boar” is in itself rather strange, but it seems to me rather unlikely that Caxton would make such a “bold” political point BEFORE Bosworth (August 1485) and why? If it was a political point, it dates the writing of it to after October of 1482 and the printing in July 1485. It certainly would have been a risky tactic, perhaps Caxton or someone in the print shop was a Tudor supporter? Field argues that Caxton may have hated Richard III following the execution in 1483 of Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, a Caxton patron and translator with whom he had a particular relationship, indeed it has been suggested Rivers may have aided his move from Bruges to London in 1476. Of course the change to “boar” from “bear” could be merely a co-incidence and have no connection to the badges of Henry VII and Richard III? It must be recalled that Caxton was a man of commerce, a bookseller and publisher and his first instinct would be to protect his business interests, keeping a low profile and printing what he could. However, certainly by July of 1489 when Caxton completed Feats of Arms concluding his epilogue with a prayer for the king’s success in his enterpryses as wel in Bretagne, Flaunndres and other placis, his place at the top of society was re-established. Caxton died in 1492.

See below the 1485 Caxton edition and the 1901 Dent edition.

Caxton 1485

One further point of interest for us regarding this volume, is that T.E. Lawrence carried a copy of the Everyman’s edition of Morte D’Arthur with him on his desert campaign in WWI and it can be seen represented on his effigy at Wareham. There are also some parallels with Seven Pillars in the academic discussions of the 1922 and 1926 editions in its changed textual versions and the lengthy catalogue of names contained in the text of both Morte and SP. If we wish to further this connection we might briefly consider a book printed by TE’s friend Vyvyan Richards in 1927. This is William Caxton’s Prologues and Epilogues produced by Richards to, as he states in the Colophon, “display the character of Caxton”. TE and Richards first became friends at Jesus College, Oxford and long planned to print together. This never happened and the small booklet was the only work printed by Richards, who became a teacher. One further interesting connection (those things that we so love) is that Robert Graves purchased the printing press and paper from Richards and set up the Seizin Press with Laura Riding in 1928.

Selected further reading;
Richards, Vyvyan, William Caxton’s Prologues & Epilogues, Privately Printed, Oxford, 1927.

Bennett J.A.W. (Ed.), Essays on Malory, Oxford, 1963.

Blake, N.F., Investigations into the Prologues and Epilogues by William Caxton, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Vol. 49. No. 1, Autumn, Manchester, 1966.

Harris, Graham, The Marvellous Dream of King Arthur, The Ricardian, Vol III, No 44, March, London, 1974.

Takamiya, Toshiyuki & Brewer Derek, (Eds), Aspects of Malory, Woodbridge, 1981.

Hellinga, Lotte, Caxton in Focus, London, 1982.

Field, P.J.C. Caxton’s Roman War, contained in Arthuriana, Volume 5 Number 2, Summer, Dallas, 1995. .

Matthews, William, William Matthews on Caxton and Mallory, contained in Arthuriana, Volume 7 Number 1, Spring, Dallas, 1997, Special Issue.

Sutton, Anne, William Caxton king’s printer, contained in Medieval Merchant, Harlaxton Medieval Studies, Volume XXIV, Donington, 2014.

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Antiquarian Book News Rickaro Books

A Triple Pleasure. Pageants of the Birth, Life, and Death of Richard Beauchamp

The Pageants of the Birth, Life, and Death of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, is an illustrated biography of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick (1382–1439), (British Library MS Cotton Julius E. iv. The Pageants of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick – Medieval manuscripts blog. The manuscript dates to the 1480s and constitutes a truly splendid series of fifty-three exquisite line drawings in a brown ink on twenty-eight parchment folios delineating the life of the Earl. It does this by showing the various occasions in a series of vivid images of his life, depicting the Earl in settings contemporary to the period of the manuscript’s production. The original resides in the British Library and has been reproduced on three occasions in outstanding facsimile editions. It is known that the manuscript was later owned by the Herald, Robert Glover (1544 -1588), before passing into the hands of the renowned collector, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571 – 1631). It was finally bequeathed to the nation by Cotton’s grandson, Sir John Cotton (1621 – 1702).

The manuscript is a unique resource for the study of costume, armour, architecture and customs of the period, all depicted in a collection of “pageants”, a series of interesting and varied highlights from the Earl’s life. However, the artist achieves more than this, capturing within the images a lively nature to his characters, a real sense of human presence, unusual for many other contemporary manuscripts.

The basic facts about the Pageants have long been established. As indicated it is made up of fifty-three-line drawings with brief accompanying comments describing each period in the Earl’s life. It would appear to date to the reign of Richard III, (certainly folio 28 shows Richard III with crown and sceptre) although the date of commissioning has been considered as somewhere between 1483 and 1492. The Earl’s daughter Anne Beauchamp (1426-1492) was the probable commissioner, widow of Richard Neville ‘the Kingmaker’, Earl of Warwick (1428 -1471), who may initially have viewed it as an exemplar for Prince Edward, her grandson (thus the Yorkist emphasis in the genealogical tables of folios 27b and 28). Although Edward was dead by early 1484, a further hypothesis has it being made after 1485 to impress the new king, Henry VII. This seems a little improbable due to the Yorkist emphasis, although indeed Henry VII did restore Anne’s inheritance in 1487 and was married to Elizabeth of York. Research has been undertaken on the possible artist of the manuscript, whilst this makes for a fascinating and scholarly study, they have never been identified. Clearly the content of the illustrations is informed by someone with a knowledge of or was well informed of the events portrayed. However, it is suggested that the style and composition of the drawings indicates the possibility of an artist trained in Flanders.

We have chosen one Folio (4b.) to illustrate each of the three facsimiles to make for a comparison. This shows the Earl being invested with the Order of the Garter. It well illustrates many of the facets of the illustrations in this manuscript.

The three facsimile editions commence with the lavish publication of 1908 by The Roxburgh Club. The Club was founded in 1812 and is the oldest society of bibliophiles in the world. It has a membership limited to just forty, chosen from among those with distinguished libraries or collections, or with a scholarly interest in books. The 1908 “Pageant” publication was undertaken by the then member, William, Proby, Earl of Carysfort (1836-1909) who provided an Introduction. The volume was printed by Horace Hart of Oxford University Press, establishing a link, for the first time, between the university presses and the Club. Hart was congratulated and presented with a volume by Carysfort. Hart inserted a letter from Carysfort, expressing his satisfaction at the printing, into his volume.

Each of the forty members was presented with a copy and a small number of extra copies were printed. As might be imagined this is an impressive and elusive publication, the fifty-three plates being printed in a tint matching the manuscript and each protected by tissue guards. Textually it contains the Introduction by Carysfoot and a history of Richard Beauchamp taken from ” The Baronage of England” by William Dugdale, the seventeenth century antiquary. It is bound in the standard Roxburghe binding maroon half leather with maroon cloth covered boards.

The manuscript was again printed in a more mundane but quite adequate, “trade” edition, published by Longmans, Green & Co in 1914. This time it has Introductions by two leading scholars of their day, Viscount Harold Arthur Dillon (1844-1932) and William Henry St John Hope (1854-1919). Dillon was a leading authority on armour, serving as curator of the Armouries at the Tower of London. St John Hope was a leading antiquary and published extensively. Amongst his major work was his Architectural History of Windsor Castle, which he began in 1893, and completed twenty years later in 1913, an undertaking for which he was knighted. So, for its time these scholars well served the “Pageant”.

Viscount Arthur Dillon
W.H. St John Hope

The publication reproduces the manuscript in monochrome, photo-engraved by that eminent typographical expert, printer and antiquary Emery Walker (1851-1933), making for a clear image on the page, perhaps the clearest if not most refined of all of the facsimiles. The binding is of a grey printed paper covered boards with a grey cloth spine.

Emery Walker

Certainly, this edition produced in 1914 at a moderate price increased the accessibility to students over the always elusive and expensive Roxburghe edition.

We had to wait some eighty-nine years for the next facsimile edition. This time published in 2003 by Shaun Tyas/ The Richard III Society and Yorkist Trust with a fine scholarly Introduction and “Life” of Richard Beauchamp together with an informative commentary on the illustrations by Alexandra Sinclair. This edition is the first full colour reproduction of the manuscript using modern printing technology, making for a better comparison to the original, whilst at the loss of some clarity but greater fidelity compared to the earlier editions. It is printed on a gloss clay stock paper which however reproduces the illustrations well. It is bound in green boards, a hardback binding with an attractive printed dust-wrapper. It may lack some of the tactile appeal of the earlier editions, but this is more than made up for in the scholarly advance and the still ready availability to modern readers.

Any one of these volumes is well worthy of study and handling, each has its own particular merit, certainly (if unable to visit the British Library to experience the original), more pleasurable than viewing images on a screen.

You can order a new copy of the Shaun Tyas edition here Beauchamp from Rickaro Books BA PBFA – AbeBooks

It is clear that Richard Beauchamp is a fortunate man to be still remembered seven centuries on by two superlative memorials. The first was the completion in 1450 of his chantry chapel in St Mary’s, Warwick, which contains the truly splendid tomb with its gilt cast metal effigy. Here the Earl is shown in possibly a Milanese armour, accurate to every last strap, buckle and hinge which is of a style certainly later than his time of death. The effigy is in full relief, as complete to the back as to the front. The images below being drawn and etched by Charles Alfred Stothard (1786-1821) in 1813. In his letters Stothard tells the account of turning the effigy over to be able to draw the rear detail. The effigy lies upon a tomb chest covered with its original gilt hearse, surrounded by his family in the form of cast metal “weepers”.

The second being this manuscript of his “birth, life and death” still admired and studied even if it may have been originally produced as a piece of political propaganda for the Beauchamp family in troubled times. Two truly memorable and sumptuous memorials of a life well lived.

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Book News Rickaro Books T. E. Lawrence

Return to sender!

There is little that brings us closer to a person and their character than a personal letter, displaying a characteristic hand and turn of phrase. This can be true of anyone we may know or be interested in and the pieces of paper may become treasured items.

T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935) wrote a great many letters to a wide variety of people, both ordinary and famous. We have previously considered the published collections of his correspondence, from the early David Garnett volume through to the forensic editions from the Castle Hill Press. A study of these letters can provide invaluable insight into the thoughts, character and activities of TE and are vital for anyone studying the life and times of this enigmatic historical figure.

It is a truth of anyone that their correspondence provides a window, as it were, to their innermost character. This is certainly true of TE and despite the many published volumes, very many letters remain unpublished and these provide further insight to the man behind the ‘legend’. As a bonus the seeking out of these letters can provide a frisson of pleasure in the search for new and original material.

The physical letters themselves are remarkable artefacts, redolent of their time, sometimes with the very envelopes in which they were posted and the ink occasionally remaining almost fresh on the page. Like first editions, autograph letters are a means of getting close to a person, almost, if of course not quite, being able to reach out and touch them.

“(incomplete copies have no future in the second-hand market)”

This tantalizing, brief extract is contained in a fascinating letter to the author and politician John Buchan of ’The 39 Steps’ fame and is dated 1.XII.26, that magical date written in TE’s hand in each and every one of the “complete” and “incomplete” copies of the 1926 “Seven Pillars”. This note was in fact written just upon completion of the 1926 edition and prior to his embarkation to India. Amongst other comments the letter refers to the gift for the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, of one of the extremely rare “incomplete” 1926 “Seven Pillars” of which there were only 39 copies. As a financial forecaster of the future TE has not proved very reliable, as an “incomplete” copy has recently sold for just in excess of £35,000. It must be recalled that the only “incomplete” thing about these copies is the omission of a few of the plates. He also goes on to relate: “This is one of those which I am giving to the fellows who did the Arab Revolt with me.” Interestingly this is written on the reverse of a piece of 14 Barton Street notepaper, perhaps indicating where the letter was written.

“What a mercy Revolt is withdrawn”

This is a whale of a letter, two full A4 sides, dated 24.4.28 and written on thin paper from Drigh Road, Karachi, to his solicitor Edward Eliot. It is unpublished and largely unknown,  covering several fascinating threads including the proposed and eventually abortive Korda film. It also discusses a rather surprising proposal for the construction of swimming baths using ‘Revolt’ money that had been donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund, this pool was to be “for married families and officers” and TE even details a rota for its use.  At the end of the letter he states “(Indeed Revolt wasn’t a book at all. It was a sort of solvent of an overdraft: a financial instrument)”. The story of the survival and rediscovery of this now rather fragile document is a tale in itself. It was found in the drawer of a large, unloved mahogany sideboard at an open-air antique market. The drawer tipped out and three pieces of paper fluttered to the muddy ground, one an unrelated letter, an old French will and this splendid letter. They could have been trampled in the mud!

“I want it for the illustrations’ sake.”

This is taken from a letter written from Cattewater (soon to be Mount Batten) on 21.V.29  written to Mr Bain  of the well-known booksellers James Bain. The author Horace Walpole wrote a Foreword for ‘Bain: a bookseller looks back’ and has a splendid reminiscence regarding TE; “It was in the left-hand corner near the door that I once had a never-to-be-forgotten conversation with T.E. Lawrence, robed like a shadow in airman’s uniform.”

In the letter TE requests several interesting books, possibly for his own use or possibly for loan to other airmen at Cattewater. The actual quotation above though relates to a title called “War Birds” in which there are attractive illustrations, although he admired the book thinking it “worthwhile”, writing to Frederic Manning in 1930 he states, “War Birds is not literature but a raw sharp life”.

“Flying, and the progress of flying, is a very great interest of mine….”

This tantalising statement is contained in a rather mysterious letter, dated 5.1.33  to an unknown recipient: “Dear Madam” who had offered a form of “refuge”. He ends by saying that “the last ten years in the Air Force have been wholly delightful.” TE does not need anything further.

“Pat is my next-door neighbour and he and I have gone into partnership (Knowles & Shaw, very LTD) to build our respective shacks”

So, for a final peek at this selection of correspondence we choose two closely dated letters addressed to Albert Yarwood, at his shipbuilding company in Northwich, Cheshire. They even remain in their postal envelopes addressed and sealed by TE. In the letters, Lawrence refers to progress on H.M.S. Auxiliary Aquarius, “I’ve had letters from Singapore about the Aquarius, which seems to have been adopted as a Station Pet! If she does half what they ask of her, she will be a wonder ship. The only criticism so far is that she is a bit hot, in the engine room. So I suppose the poor old chief is still sweating! He’ll qualify for a jockey in two or three years time.”; he also discusses a new design of flooring for his cottage, Clouds Hill, in Dorset, where Yarwood supplied materials.

This tiny fragment of correspondence from TE, I trust, indicates the intimate nature of such things and these brief extracts have two dominant tropes, his interest and love of books and the RAF. Possibly, along with his motorcycling the most satisfying threads of his multi-skeined life. His correspondence is indeed well worthy of exploration. So, remember when searching out letters, “anything can be anywhere”.

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T.E. Lawrence, Clouds Hill bookplates and Jacob Schwartz

One always needs to look out for fakes and forgeries, although on occasion these have a fascination all of their own and can sometimes match or even surpass the interest of an original.

Here we would like to discuss two such instances in the field of  collecting T.E. Lawrence. The first relates to the books from what is known as the “Clouds Hill” library, these being the books that were in TE’s cottage at the time of his death in 1935. It is well known that these are catalogued in “T.E. Lawrence by His Friends” and this section of the volume may indeed lend itself to being used as a kind of “faker’s bible”. The books were mainly widely dispersed by A.W. Lawrence and the majority bear a small bookplate to identify them. However, there are books around with a “fake” or  ”second state” bookplate, possibly prepared by a bookseller. I have had through my hands the same title, one with a good bookplate and the other with a “second state” or “fake”. I have never come across a provenanced “Clouds Hill” volume, bearing a “fake” bookplate. The fortunate thing is that the bookplates are easy to tell apart, if you have seen them before, so do not be taken in.

Genuine bookplate.
“Fake” or “second state” bookplate.

The other thing to add is that A.W. Lawrence retained a few of the books, only disposing of them many years later and these do not have the bookplate but can usually be identified by other means of provenance.

A more entertaining and possibly contentious item is the so called “Schwartz Packet”. So called after an American, but London based bookdealer and bibliophile, who was mainly active in the 1930s from his Ulysses bookshop. This is Jacob Schwartz, who was apparently a charismatic character, perhaps mostly remembered, if at all now, as an authority on James Joyce material and the compiler of “1100 Obscure Points” a bibliophile’s handbook.

He was probably the owner, and certainly close to the item of TE interest here mentioned: it comprises three manuscript pages, of T.E. Lawrence’s study of James Elroy Flecker, written in black ink, on thin typing paper, the actual paper purporting to be re-used transcripts of letters from Hussein Ibn Ali and General Wilson. These sheets have been splendidly bound in quarter leather by renowned binders Sangorski and Sutcliffe, in a style that fits with the Golden Cockerel Press TE volumes. Presumably, this binding was commissioned by Schwartz to enhance and preserve the pages and improve their saleability.

Supposedly written in the 1920s by TE, if a forgery this was skilfully undertaken and deserves further research. The paper they are written on was apparently used to provide corroborating evidence, although possibly a little unconvincing in their content. Using the same method, the compiler also inserts a loose letter purporting to be from Lord Stamfordham with a  two-line note supposedly in TE’s hand at the foot.

“Schwartz” copy

A comparison with the facsimile contained in one of the thirty copies of the special Golden Cockerel Press edition of Men in Print of 1940 indicates some minor discrepancies that may give the “Scwartz” item away or possibly indicate a different version, it does not appear as a straightforward tracing?

Golden Cockerel Press facsimile from special of “Men in Print”.

Whatever, TE’s brother A.W. Lawrence decidedly took against the manuscript and the enclosure, noting on the letter: The above two lines of writing are not in my brother’s hand & no such note appears on the original holograph letter in my possession from which this copy was typed after the death of T.E. Lawrence. A.W. Lawrence May 11, 1938.

He was apparently also equally unimpressed with the three pages of manuscript and Ed Maggs tells me that he has seen a letter written to Mrs Flecker dated January 1938 where AW states, I found a manuscript about your husband among my brother’s papers and had it typed by a man who took the opportunity to trace the original and sell his tracing to a dealer as being a genuine document. In addition, AW inscribes the first blank of the bound manuscript to a similar effect.

He obviously had for whatever the reason felt so strongly about this matter that he insisted the manuscript and letter be sealed and stored with his solicitor, indeed the whole beautifully bound volume and related material still remains housed in a stout legal envelope sealed with red wax and elaborately signed by both Jacob Schwartz and AW over the seals.

Schwartz Packet with seals and signatures.

Now all this begs a number of points; why did AW go to such apparently elaborate lengths to have the pages sealed and signed with wax and stored at his solicitors rather than have them destroyed. Surely with his opinion of them this would have been a safer course of action rather than leave them for posterity.

This TE account of James Elroy Flecker has an interesting history in itself. In a letter of 27.IV.27 to E.M. Forster TE writes; Lets be exact. My note on Flecker was written one wet Sunday in Clouds Hill . Since light was vouchsafed to me I have written no more. My writing isn’t good. It was first published by the Corvinus Press in 1937 in a tiny edition of just 32 copies, there was also a small American printing that year to protect copyright that was not for sale or circulation. These editions followed the manuscript but contained a number of mis-readings and mistaken editorial changes, in what David Garnett terms, a corrupt text. Viscount Carlow annotates a copy; This book was printed to cover the copyright of certain documents that were stolen. No copies are in general circulation. So here is a slightly different account of the manuscript to that given by AW elsewhere. It seems that the events around this manuscript led to the desire to publish in a limited way to protect copyright.

In 1940 A. W. Lawrence published an edited and reduced text in the Golden Cockerel Press edition of “Men in Print”, itself an edition of only 500 copies, 30 being specials with the facsimile and with a note that sets out the basis for AW’s version. He also provides Hellé Flecker’s opinion of the text. Her statement that Flecker showed no Jewish traits is, perhaps, understandable at that date, since the population of Greece, her native country, was under threat from Nazi Germany. A Jewish connection might have put members of her family in danger. So as can be seen the text was at this time rather contentious and there are reasons that AW may not have wanted copies of the original text too readily available. It is only in recent times being made more generally available in reprint format, first by M. Valentine in 1988 and later (1992) in a facsimile version of the Corvinus Press edition.

So, the moral of these tales is surely Caveat Emptor, but do not always take things quite at face value, there are always stories to uncover and things may not always be just as they seem.

Thanks for assistance in putting this together to Ed Maggs and for further information on Jacob Schwartz see William S. Brockman, “Jacob Schwartz – The Fly in the Honey” contained in Joyce Studies Annual  1998. See also “The Corvinus Press, A History and Bibliography” by Paul W. Nash and A.J. Flavell. 1994. However, the interpretation , such as it is, is all mine!

I will welcome thoughts and comments.

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