Henry Williamson’s connection with T.E. Lawrence first came about when in 1928 TE wrote a long letter to Edward Garnett, the well connected publisher’s reader, about Tarka the Otter, this including a near line by line critical analysis. This letter followed on from Garnett having sent TE a proof copy of the book out to Karachi, where he was at that time posted by the RAF. Now Garnett, wasting no time, sent this long letter on to Williamson, who had fortunately been impressed reading Revolt in the Desert, which had been serialised in The Daily Telegraph, and so the connection began. These notes on Tarka, as contained within the letter were to be largely incorporated into a later edition of Tarka. The letter was published for the first time by the Golden Cockerel Press in the edition of Men in Print, in July of 1940.
The newly formed connection was mainly maintained by correspondence, in fact the two men only appear to have actually met on a couple of occasions. The “friendship” if such it was, proved in fact of a relatively short duration, some seven years, indeed TE probably had some reservations about Williamson, possibly in particular his extra-marital affairs!
It was of course on a motorcycle ride on the 13th May 1935, returning from the Post Office at Bovington where TE had sent a Telegram, handed in at 11.25, to Williamson, Lunch Tuesday wet fine cottage one mile North Bovington camp Shaw, that he had the accident from which he was to die some six days later. The purpose of the meeting, never to be, were wholly literary and probably surrounding the writings of the recently deceased V. M. Yeates. There was no political motivation behind the meeting, despite unfounded speculation and rumour circulated later. Indeed this was created by Williamson and he possibly began to believe his own tales.
It was following TE’s death that Williamson commenced writing his own memoir in 1936 using quotations from the letters TE had written to him. At this period A.W. Lawrence was to heavily edit Williamson’s contribution to “Friends“, the collection of essays about TE by those who had known him, published in 1937. However Williamson planned for a longer version aimed at Atlantic Monthly of his memoir. A.W. Lawrence always appears to have reservations about Williamson’s text and indeed imposed a five year embargo on quotes from his brothers’ letters which postponed any such publication. This no doubt brought about to some extent by David Garnett’s (son of Edward) splendid collection The Letters of T.E. Lawrence published by Jonathan Cape in 1938. By 1940 however Williamson now pressed ahead and the Golden Cockerel Press. owned at this time by Christopher Sandford, Owen Rutter and Francis J. Newbery took an interest in it. They had some success in recent years with TE related volumes such as Crusader Castles 1936, Secret Despatches 1939 and Men in Print 1940. These were uniform volumes bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe and sold well, so they we keen to develop the series. The proposal appears to have been that the Williamson volume would be in this format, matching the other publications.
By 1940 it appears that A.W. Lawrence had relented on the quotes following the five year hiatus, although Williamson could not find the relevant letter and there remained concerns regarding permissions that may have needed clearance from Raymond Savage, the literary agent. These concerns are related by Williamson in a postcard to Owen Rutter dated 1 Dec 1940.
Discussion with A.W. Lawrence obtained the necessary permissions, although he retained reservations about the text (as surviving letters to Owen Rutter indicate), and was as always cautious about controlling copyright. Christopher Sandford too had some concerns about the planning of the publication, which he expressed to his partners in a note. His suggestion was for a 2 guinea production in the style of Crusader Castles.
Eventually in April of 1941 it was all agreed to press ahead and publish and in a format matching the recent Lawrence series of GCP volumes. The Press had very recently published the Men in Print volume in July of 1940. In April of 1941 Owen Rutter wrote to A.W. Lawrence with the news.
But the story does not end here, or happily for the Golden Cockerel Press, writing to A.W. Lawrence on the 6th May, here is a file copy letter from the Press, which explains that after months of negotiation Williamson declined to let the Golden Cockerel Press publish his memoir of TE as he wanted more of an advance payment which the Press could not afford. One can sense the frustration and possible disappointment in the brief note and the continuing concerns regarding copyright with another publisher becoming involved. In the event the Golden Cockerel Press consoled itself with a different letters volume in the series, Shaw-Ede. T.E. Lawrence’s Letters to H.S. Ede, published September 1942, which in the event proved to have its own difficulties meaning that a correction slip had to be issued.
However, Williamson obviously seems to have gone for the money and was now eager to have his memoir published. So all appears to have been speedily agreed and a contract with Faber was signed by 20 August 1941. Genius of Friendship was published by Faber in November of 1941. It was to be a less glamorous edition than the Golden Cockerel Press would have produced, if more accessible for the general reader priced at just 10/6d. The edition has 80 pages, only 70 pages of actual text. The pages are untrimmed, which is unusual in a commercial book at this time. It is in a pale blue dust wrapper with classic Faber typographical design. But time has not been kind to it. as it does tend to fox and fade.
To conclude our TE/ Williamson connection, here is a tantalizing little puzzle, a proof copy from the library of Henry Williamson of the only and exceedingly scarce biographical novel by Myfanwy (Ann) Thomas, daughter of poet Edward Thomas, writing under the pseudonym of Julia Hart Lyon which provides a fictionalised account of her long affair with Williamson. Entitled Women must love it was published by Faber in 1937. Many of the events of the novel reflect what is known about their affair, from the early days as his secretary to the birth of a child. This proof copy being corrected by Williamson steering the narrative to be more sympathetic to the male character. Pasted in the proof, presumably by Williamson, a photograph of TE and underneath the words “ill-fated”. Why I wonder?
Charles Montagu Doughty (1843-1927) was traveller, writer and poet extraordinaire. In a twenty-one month trek he became one of the greatest of Arabian travellers, as is recalled in his published record of the arduous journey that he undertook. It was on the 18th of November 1876 that he began his adventurous and perilous exploration of Arabia, that was eventually to lead to the two stately and challenging volumes some ten years later.
As we will observe the publication of this, one of the greatest travel writings was to be almost as trying as the journey that it describes. After his leaving of Arabia in 1878 it would take ten long years for the finished volumes to finally appear. This was only following some pressure from academics to be undertaken by the Cambridge University Press in an edition of only 500 copies, at the high price (for 1888) of 3 guineas.
The volumes can be a challenging read, being in Doughty’s distinctive and idiocentric style, part archaic, part linguistic. The passage to publication was to be a fraught one. In 1883 he presented a paper through Dr. T.G. Bonney to the Royal Geographical Society and the matter was then published in mere abstract form in the Society’s Proceedings of 1884, under the title Travels in North-Western Arabia (pp.382-399) together with a sketch map.
The bulky manuscript of his wanderings and ensuing research was submitted to a number of London publishers. One such was Macmillan & Co. It appears that co-founder of the famous publishing company, Alexander Macmillan was not too impressed, writing on the 24th April 1884 to Trelawney Saunders, who was an East India Company cartographer he was to state; ‘Not once but many times have attempts been made to read Mr Doughty’s MS by ourselves as well as by one of the ablest men we know. Upon no theory of scholarship is the style tolerable.‘ Macmillan goes on in the same missive, to quote from a letter written by a Rev. Dr. Percy Badger, ( this is George Percy Badger 1815-1888, missionary and orientalist) who amongst other things stated that the MS should be re-written. We will return to Dr. Badger later. Macmillan added to this letter to Saunders; ‘I like Mr Doughty exceedingly and should have been glad to publish his book, if it had been publishable.’ Publishers may tend to be cautious men, but these are extreme views on a book that was later to find such high acclaim, a status that it enjoys and indeed is enhanced to this day. It here has to be stated that this is not an easy book to read and in manuscript form must have been daunting in the extreme.
Upon eventual publication it gave rise to mixed reviews. These provided a reasonable launch for the volumes, for instance, The Times and The Spectator gave good, respectful reviews both appreciating to some extent the writing style. It was however reviewed in The Academy of Saturday July 28th by no less than explorer, writer and orientalist, Richard Francis Burton who provided overall a reasonable if grudging lengthy mention. Although commencing his piece with ‘Mega Vivlion Mega Kakon [Big Book, Big Evil] will I fear be the verdict of the general reader’, and ended it, ‘I cannot for the life of me, see how the honoured name of England can gain aught by the travel of an Englishman who at all times and in all places is compelled to stand the buffet from knaves that smell of sweat’. He was perhaps writing in character, rather resenting the fact that Doughty had apparently neglected to read his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Mecca, published in 1855/6 before setting off on his journey. Burton went on, ‘admiring the while the author’s unworldly unwisdom‘.
It was though an expensive set to purchase and sales for the Cambridge University Press were slow. However despite or because of these reviews and various personal mentions, the volumes eventually found a following, although Doughty was to make little from the publication, in fact quite the reverse. Over the years of all of the admirers none were greater than T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), a man needing no introduction to readers of our blogs. He describes the work as, ‘a bible of its kind…the more you learn of Arabia the more you find in Arabia Deserta. also ‘We call the book “Doughty” pure and simple, for it is a classic’. Original 1888 copies were by this time, the period of World War I, fetching very high prices. This being the case and wishing to see the work more available, Lawrence attempted to persuade publishers to reissue the two substantial volumes. He had already spoken, to no avail, to the Government Press in Cairo in 1916. D. G. Hogarth head of the Arab Bureau during WW1 had praised the volumes for their informative value. There was an abridgement by the literary reader and editor Edward Garnett, published by Duckworth in 1908, but they too declined to publish the two complete unabridged volumes because of costs involved. Finally in 1921 Lawrence assisted in enabling Jonathan Cape and the Medici Society to publish the two handsome volumes, again in an edition of 500 copies at a price of 9 guineas, but with a new Introduction by the now famous ‘Colonel’ T. E. Lawrence to aid initial sales. So ‘Introduced’, the volumes’ sales went well despite the price, Lawrence’s confidence in the work was amply justified. This was Jonathan Cape’s first publication and set a high standard for future work from this publisher, which exists, in name at least, to this day. The new 1921 edition retained at least a version of Doughty’s Preface to the first edition, alongside the new Introduction by T. E. Lawrence. In this, Lawrence is highly complimentary and he uses some extracts from his early text to his proposed ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’. This new, second edition was to sell well and finally establish the book in the pantheon amongst great travel literature. Lawrence was to withdraw his Introduction after the initial edition, only allowing its replacement at a later date.
However, we now return to Rev. Dr. Percy Badger who had suggested a re-write to Alexander Macmillan. In his Preface to the first edition, Doughty states that Badger has verykindly aided me, but he along with others is left out of the so called ‘first edition’ Preface reprinted in the Cape second edition, as well as the new enlarged Preface of that second edition. One wonders just why? In this new preface Doughty makes a point of thanking the academics who persuaded the Syndics of Cambridge University Press to invest in the 1888 edition.
Arabia Deserta remained in print with Cape for many years, a worthy tribute to the work and its sponsors. T. E. Lawrence had two copies of each edition as well as Doughty’s poetry volumes at his Clouds Hill library at the time of his death in 1935. The literary reader Edward Garnett, a great judge of merit in writers of all kinds, was to state, ‘Doughty needs no defenders’ in a letter dated October 31st 1935, in a response to Cyril Laken of the The Sunday Times regarding an article of Garnett’s that had been ‘mutilated ‘.
In his later life Doughty wrote and published a number of volumes of poetry. In a letter to T. E. Lawrence dated 6th November 1920, Doughty was to write, ‘When the printing and publishing of the Arabia Deserta volumes was completed, I found little interest was taken in such work at home, I felt therefore I had done therein what was in my power, and as the Arabs say, I might wash my hands of it: and could now turn to what I considered my true life’s work with the Muse’. The Muse in his poetry led him in a rather eccentric style, as might be expected, but again these found a following. The writer and great poet to be Edward Thomas reviewed Adam Cast Forth in 1908 and spoke of his unique power. T. E. Lawrence writing to Charlotte Shaw in 1927 was to write; ‘Adam cast Forth is splendid. Its goodness defies the lack of form which would have ruined a less great work, but otherwise I cannot see more than great effort and great failure in his poetic work’. So even he was ambivalent about the poetry, but in the same letter he was to state; ‘Arabia Deserta remains wonderful.’
These poetry volumes consisted of: The Dawn in Britain in six volumes (1906), Adam Cast Forth (1908), The Cliffs (1909), The Clouds (1912), The Titans (1916) and Mansoul; or, The Riddle of the World (1920) which he continued revising until the end of his life. These poems can be hard going, but they do have devoted followers, although by no means being an ‘easy’ read.
Doughty died on the 20th January 1926 and was cremated at Golders Green, amongst the mourners, one man in an R.A.F. uniform was present, it was T. E. Shaw (Lawrence of Arabia). Jonathan Cape suggested that T. E. Lawrence write a biography of Doughty but he declined, later suggesting Siegfried Sassoon. In 1928 a biography was published written by Lawrence’s mentor, friend and admirer of Doughty, D. G. Hogarth, being seen through the press by his son, following Hogarth’s own death in 1927.
Doughty’s great work of Arabia Deserta will survive as a literary masterpiece alongside such as Ulysses, Moby Dick and perhaps indeed even Seven Pillars of Wisdom, (of this latter, the 1922 text of which was loaned to Doughty by Lawrence, he found hard to take, with its references to subjects difficult for him to comprehend). Doughty’s poetry may have a harder time in the modern world.
But if you wish to spend long hours of toil and pleasure experiencing life in nineteenth century Arabia, now long gone forever, with all of its sounds, hazards and smells, then Charles M. Doughty is your man and boon companion on the journey.
Further reading;
Doughty, Charles, M. Travels in North Western Arabia and Nejd, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, No. VII, July, 1884.pp.382-399 + map.
Doughty, Charles, M. Travels in Arabia Deserta, Cambridge University Press, 1888.
Doughty, Charles, M. Travels in Arabia Deserta, with a New Preface By the Author, Introduction By T.E. Lawrence, Philip Lee Warner Medici Society and Jonathan Cape, 1921.
Doughty, Charles, M. Hogarth’s Arabia, Privately Published, 1922.
Hogarth, D.G. The Life of Charles M. Doughty, Oxford University Press, 1928.
We enjoy most forms of motor sport at Rickaro Books and indeed offer some small support for Fastline Superbikes of Preston who run Bobby Varey on a TZ 250cc Yamaha in Club 59 events at circuits around the country.
On this note our stock contains interesting published items from all periods and forms of the sport and we particularly appreciate signed or association items. So here is a small selection of what we consider fascinating, if sometimes unexpected, material relating to significant figures across the range and times of both two and four wheeled racing. They are not always listed on our sites so do contact us about any that may be of interest.
So we start with the earliest days and a presentation copy of a book by a pioneer racer, Charles Jarrott (1877-1944). He raced from 1900 to 1904, winning the 1902 Circuit des Ardennes race and competing in the 1903 and 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup races. This is a 1912 edition of his book, “Ten Years of Motors and Motor Racing”, first published in 1906. It is a presentation copy from the author to a colleague from the “Great War” and dated 1918.
The volume is an enthralling account of the early races and contains splendid photographs of the cars and characters of the period.
It is not just factual writings that some of the heroic figures of the sport produced, but some turn their hands to fiction. One such is Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948). He was of course a racing driver of renown as well as being world speed record on land and water. His land and water vehicles were called “Bluebird” and the tradition was continued by his son Donald. But Sir Malcolm wrote novels for readers who were young at heart, “boys and old boys” and here is a rather interesting presentation copy of one, being his second novel. It has the striking and evocative Roland Davies dust-wrapper artwork.
Tazio Nuvolari (1892-1953): it was Dr Ferdinand Porsche who described Nuvolari as “the greatest driver of the past, the present or the future”. He was arguably the most courageous racer to have ever lived. Whilst it is always difficult to compare eras, it can be claimed that his accomplishments certainly rival that of Fangio, Senna and Schumacher, he is without question the greatest of his era. He was a man of many talents having raced motorcycles as well as cars from 1925 until 1930, when he concentrated on cars, and won the 1932 European Championship. He had a long career racing for Alfa Romeo in Enzo Ferrari’s team and going on to drive the fearsome rear-engined Auto Unions. Well recalled in England for his stirring victory at Donnington in 1938. A perhaps typical exploit was to take place during the 1948 Mille Miglia, Nuvolari’s final one. The bonnet flew off his race car at speed, narrowly missing his head. Nuvolari’s passenger was, understandably, alarmed but Nuvolari calmly stated it would better cool the engine, next however, Nuvolari’s seat came loose, throwing it out he was calmly to continue, until brake failure finally forced him to retire. He was indeed a striking figure in his yellow racing shirt with his TN monogram and tortoise lucky charm .In his later years he was to suffer ill health brought on by the fumes that he had inhaled over the years. Unlike many of his colleagues he was to die in his bed in 1953. He is buried near his home town of Mantua, in the family vault where an inscription reads: Correrai Ancor Più Veloce Per Le Vie Del Cielo ( You will race even faster along the roads of heaven), he requested to be buried in his racing outfit.
Stanley Woods (1903-1993) was an Irish motorcycle racer, who gained fame for riding in the TT races on the Isle of Man. He rode with greatest success with Norton and Moto Guzzi. What is perhaps not so well known is his connection with toffee! He signed this letterhead in 1990.
Whilst perhaps not directly involved with motor sport, T.E. Shaw (Lawrence of Arabia) had a great regard for speed, (“the greatest pleasure of my recent life has been speed on the road”) either on one of his beloved Brough Superior motorcycles, or on the water in Biscayne Baby speedboat “Biscuit” that he used whilst based at Mountbatten.
Here is a note to a fellow aircraftman about a part for the rev counter of the Biscayne Baby (BB) and asking him to either repair it or take this with the other parts to a Plymouth watch dealer S. Davies for repair. An interesting aside: might this be the watch repairer that TE would have taken his own “Omega” wrist chronograph for a service? Do the records of S. Davie exist? A fascinating survival of a small seemingly insignificant note.
New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren (1937-1970) was to drive for Cooper winning a number of Grand Prix before leaving in 1965 to found the still renowned eponymous F1 team McLaren. In 1966 he was to win Le Mans, driving a Ford GT40. The book “From the Cockpit” relates the story of his life. Laid in this particular copy is an original photograph of McLaren driving a number 6 Cooper, c.1962. signed in ink, “To Hilary, Bruce McLaren”, bearing photographer stamps to reverse for Patrick Benjafield (photographer for Autosport). “Hilary” is the wife of Alfred Ben Bigg. Also present are two passes for the British Grand Prix, 21 July 1962 and European Grand Prix, 11 July 1964. An interesting cache of 1960s GP items.
Mike Hailwood (1940-1981) the great “Mike the Bike” was a nine-time world champion, Hailwood won 76 Grand Prix races during his motorcycle racing career, including 14 Isle of Man TT victories and four consecutive 500 cc world championships. After his motorcycle racing career concluded, he went on to compete in Formula One and other classes of car racing, becoming one of the few men to compete at Grand Prix level in both motorcycle and car racing. In addition he was awarded the George Medal for bravery for rescuing Clay Regazonni from a blazing car. Other than that it was winning the 1978 Isle of Man TT after 11 years away from bike racing that Mike Hailwood had perhaps the greatest ever of his many achievements. Here is a nice copy of his book signed at that 1978 TT.
Another great driver who raced from the 1960s having some eight wins and 25 podium finishes in F1, going on to win Le Mans no less than six times is Jacky Ickx. Seen here in a signed photograph at one of his 1960s wins. Still active in the sport and sponsoring Choppard Mille Miglia wrist chronometers.
It is a truth that fine cars and fine watches or perhaps chronographs go together. Timekeeping has always been an integral part of motor sport since the earliest period. With this in mind we recommend two splendid volumes “Time to Race, Watches and Speed, Stories of men and machines” Parts I and II. These are written by Cesare Maria Mannucci and John Goldberger (Auro Montanari) and published by Nuova Esperia Imm s.r.l. They contain information on a host of racing drivers and the watches that they wore. These are heavy weight volumes in all senses, large format and packed with biographical information on the drivers and superb images of them and of the watches they are wearing. These are volumes that any motor sport fan or watch collector will find of great interest.
Steve McQueen and Jo Siffert wearing the Heuer Autavia (Siffert).
Time is now up on this particular blog! and the chequered flag falls.
Introducing a new book published in February of 2023: The Uncrowned King & the Desert Queen by Lorraine Tinsley (ISBN: 9788899838812).
Lorraine Tinsley is familiar to T.E. Lawrence aficionados having delivered papers at the bi-annual Symposium of the T.E. Lawrence Society, so as might be expected the scholarship is excellent. The book brings together many aspects of both TE and Bell, covering such as Bell’s earlier travels, the Paris and Cairo Conferences etc., giving it an appeal to a far wider audience than just TE scholars. It provides insights into aspects of both of their lives and of a mutual affection and respect, if occasional exasperation. The “footnotes” being just that, at the foot of each page make the volume’s use for reference work so much better. It is also refreshing to see both a useful bibliography and an index (despite TE’s thoughts on the matter!). It is also good to have the “Essential Letters” Appendix. There are extracts from actual correspondence which adds an extra dimension.
The book is well produced by Italian publisher Lorenzo de’ Medici Press. Very nicely printed, with a good typeface and layout, all on cream paper making for a relaxed and approachable read. It lays open nicely, as all good books should, despite being a paperback as it has been bound in gatherings.
The volume is available at the reasonable price of £25 (£20 to members of the T.E. Lawrence Society).
It was Sir Isaac Newton who stated that “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”, this is certainly true for those in the field of historical research where we need to refer to the work of earlier historians who have recorded material now lost.
Now one such “giant” is our hero in this paper, Thomas Gent, (apparently known to his wife and colleagues as “Tommy”), the York-based printer and historian. He has left several significant 18th century volumes that reveal much about the past and are still valued for their original research.
Gent was however more than a researcher, he was also a printer, printing from his York, Coffee Yard workshop until 1740 and then from his Petergate home. It is the county of Yorkshire that he mainly recorded in his volumes, these are packed with fascinating often obscure facts, hidden biographical snippets and with sometimes crude wood-engravings that have a naive charm of their own, but he is also associated with the printing of chapbooks and a local newspaper. He used a wooden printing press and here can be seen an image of his Coffee Yard workshop in full operation. The detail is excellent showing the printer inking the type, indeed a visit to a hand-press today reveals a similar view, except the press would probably be of iron.
He may also be recalled from the life-size portrait by York based painter, Nathan Drake of 1770 where recently he looked down upon and no doubt had his thoughts upon, the lecturers and members of the YAS, whilst it hung over the fireplace in the lecture room at Claremont, until the lamented dispersal of the Societies premises a few years ago.
It is a fine characterful portrait, with Thomas holding open a copy of his History of Rippon and featuring his other major topographical works. This is a striking image of the irascible Gent in older age. In best television “Fake or Fortune” manner, an investigation of the rear of the picture reveals some of its hidden history. It has at some time after 1877 passed through the hands of the then Manchester and London based dealer Thos. Agnew & Son and their label is pasted to the reverse, as is a further significant label that shows that it was exhibited at the Huddersfield Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition in 1883, the catalogue of this exhibition survives in the Huddersfield University Archives revealing its then owner.
There are other images of Thomas that survive, firstly there is the engraved portrait, obviously taken from the Nathan Drake painting, engraved by Valentine Green in 1771, this was used in the 1832 Autobiography published by Thomas Thorpe and was also reproduced in William Boyne’s bibliographical work The Yorkshire Library. Obviously taken from the Drake portrait.
Used as a frontispiece in some of Thomas’s own printed volumes is the engraved image showing him as musician, holding music and with a wind instrument on the table and a violin on the wall, but high above him are his books featuring his topographical works. From 1737 he tells us; “Having but too much time to spare, rather than be indolent, I studied music on the harp, flute, and other instrument”.
From a little earlier is the rather crude image, dated 1755 used by Thomas as a bookplate in some of his own books, here again it can be seen that on the wall behind are his topographical works.
A further rather fine engraved portrait survives that is quite different from the others, it is drawn by William Doughty, this time we see a striking image in profile. Doughty was himself a York man who had trained under Sir Joshua Reynolds. This engraving is exceedingly rare, this may be a unique original print.
As to his nature, which can to some extent be perceived in the portraits, Robert Davies in his memoir of printing in York, tells us that he did not practise the art of ingratiating himself with persons among whom his lot was cast. It appears from his own account that he was, at least in later life, in a constant state of antagonism with many of his neighbours and acquaintances. He indulged in using terms of a coarse and unmeasured abuse, when speaking of persons whom he regarded as having done anything offensive or injurious to him. On many occasions he exhibited bad temper and a grossness of language. In short, perhaps a difficult man?
We are indeed fortunate to have his autobiography, the manuscript of which was discovered by Thomas Thorpe the London bookseller, it is in the handwriting of the author, and entitled by him, Of the Life of THOMAS GENT, Printer. It was written in 1746, when he was 53 years of age. Found, in a collection from Ireland, the country of which Gent was a native, and where he had relations, into whose hands the work may be supposed to have fallen on the death of its author. It was published by Thorpe, edited by the Yorkshire historian Joseph Hunter in 1832, it is particularly interesting for bibliophiles, that it was later acquired by the great book collector, Edward Hailstone of Walton Hall, near Wakefield and went with his collection to the Minster Library at York where it still resides. This account, whilst somewhat incomplete, is written much in the style of the period, but guides us through his life through to the 1740s. It is a picture of an irritable character who could hardly bear venting his resentment on many occasions but highlights his career and is of course an invaluable source of information. Indeed, as mentioned, his own published books also include autobiographical information hiding within his text.
Thomas Gent was born, in 1693, in Dublin, to parents of a humble background, his father being English. By 1707 he was apprenticed to a printer in Dublin, this was to prove an unhappy period of his life, together with problems over a young lady, a matter, unsurprisingly not detailed in his autobiography. He was, in 1710 to “escape” to England and renewed an apprenticeship under well regarded, London printer Edward Midwinter. Upon eventual completion of the apprenticeship, he went on to work for various printers in London. A major turning point in his life was in 1714 when he acquired a position with John White, a York based printer and moved to that City. We can usefully here quote from the “Autobiography” where, as can be heard he includes much colourful detail.
The next morning, being Tuesday, the 20th of April, 1714, I set forward, and had not, I think, walked three miles, when a gentleman’s servant, with a horse ready saddled, and himself riding on another, overtook me, and, for a shilling, with a glass or so on the road, allowed me to ride with him in my road as far as Caxton, which was the period of his journey. On Wednesday, with difficulty, I reached Stamford; on Thursday, got to Newark, famous for the ancient castle near Trent, built by Alexander, bishop of Lincoln; Friday, having lost my road, I got no further than Bawtry; on Saturday, reached Sherburn; on Sunday, was much delighted with the stream of Wharf, near Tadcaster, and the same day arrived at York, about twelve o’clock. The first house I entered to inquire for my new master was in a printer’s, at Petergate, the very dwelling that is now my own, by purchase; but not finding Mr. White therein, a child brought me to his door, which was opened by the head maiden, that is now my dear spouse. She ushered me into the chamber, where Mrs. White lay something ill in bed; but the old gentleman was at his dinner, by the fireside, sitting in a noble armchair, with a good large pie before him, and made me partake heartily with him. [Mr White had printed the Prince of Orange’s Declaration when it had been refused by all the printers in London, and was made king’s printer for York and five counties. See Literary Anecdotes, &c. by John Nichols, vol. iii. p.688. JH] I had a guinea in my shoe lining, which I pulled out to ease my foot, at which the old gentleman smiled, and pleasantly said, it was more than he ever had seen a journeyman save before; I could not but smile too, because that my trunk, with my clothes, and eight guineas, was sent, about a month before, to Ireland, where I was resolved to go, and see my friends, had his place not offered to me as it did.
The account shows his fascination with historical detail and as can be seen it was a first meeting with his wife to be, one Alice Guy, who was in due course to inherit the printing business. But this was not before he undertook further travels and tribulations. He was to return to working in London and other places, becoming in 1717 a freeman of the company of Stationers.
However, in 1724 he was to have the opportunity to marry his first sweetheart, Alice Guy who had earlier married a Charles Bourne, (printer, who had in turn inherited John White’s Coffee Yard workshop), but was now widowed.
So, Thomas Gent inherited a ready-made printing house in Coffee Yard, York, the building still survives, being recently an eponymous coffee shop that you may have visited.
However married life was not the blissful one that he might have hoped for, he had married a 42-year-old widow and their only child Charles, died on the 12th of March 1725, aged just six months and was buried near the south pillar of St Michael-le-Belfry. Also, possibly his character mitigated against totally connubial bliss? However, he appears devoted to Alice who died on April 1st, 1761, Thomas recorded in the text of one of his later works, “leaving me in a disconsolate condition”.
As well as printer and author he also became publisher of the early newspaper the Original York Courant previously the York Mercury and set upon the publishing career for which he became famous. You will find autobiographical information woven into the text of his own books and in “The History of Hull” he tells us that he established a printing office in Scarborough and was hoped to print a volume on the town, in the end information on the town was included as an appendix to his “History of Hull”.
To make a complete bibliography of Gent’s printing endeavours would, I feel be a difficult task, many of his publications were slight chap-book publications of an ephemeral nature and may not have survived. Davis in his Memoirs of the York Press, lists some 69 but this is certainly an underestimate by a good number .
Here I would like to look at and discuss some of his better known and more significant publications. These are a representative few and for obvious reasons focus on the topographical works that are of most interest to us here, although have included examples of other of his subject matter. The volumes present bibliographical and collation challenges as one finds the same title with different fold-out plates, or plates lacking, and occasionally additional printed material bound in. It is also a fact that these were inexpensive editions often of an ephemeral nature, poorly printed on cheaper paper and were not always cared for by subsequent owners in the best of manner. In addition, with volumes of an early eighteenth century date they have on occasions been rebound at later periods, sometimes possibly more than once. Indeed, one finds the small chapbooks often bound in with other works, all this makes for bibliographical delights!
So, let us consider some few of these publications and their delights.
X. Thomas Gent, (1730), The Ancient and Modern History of York. Advertised for sale at four shillings. This was the first of his own works that he printed and published in York. Gent called it “a pocket companion”. This was published some years before Francis Drake’s Eboracum and Gent complained that the bookseller Hammond held some manuscript material back and Gent says, “The wretch reserved them for sale to Drake”. Nevertheless, Gent’s book contains much curious information not to be found in “Eboracum”.
XV. Gent, Thomas, (1733), The History of the Loyal Town of Rippon. Advertised for sale at four shillings & sixpence. The lengthy title indicates that this little volume tells us far more than an account of the town of Ripon but takes us on a tour of information about several Yorkshire towns including York, Tadcaster, Wakefield, Pontefract, Leeds and more. Gent tells us of his “tolerably exact nature of the accounts”. Like all his books a careful reading reveals a host of information.
XXI. Anthems for Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven and Eight Voices. performed in …York, Durham… Lincoln. An engraved image of the three cathedrals as a frontispiece.
XXXVI. Historia Compendiosa Anglicana: Or, A Compendious and Delightful History of England . A succinct History of ROMA, from its Foundation by Romulus ’till the Fall of K. Tarquin.. An Appendix, relating to York .
This volume also includes the Kings and Queens and here is Richard III.
This second volume contains a brief, but interesting account of Pontefract probably printed in 1739, with engraved illustrations, showing the church and castle and inter-alia the distant town. The engravings Boyne describes as “barbarous”, perhaps in this case a little harsh?
XXXIX. British piety display’d in the glorious life, suffering, and death of the blessed St. Winefred, 1742
Gent’s volumes are sometimes packed with crude but fascinating woodcuts, as indicated below;
LXIX. The final work from his pen, was a curious chapbook on Judas Iscariot, not printed by Gent, but published in 1772.T
There are many other miscellaneous chapbooks and printed items, now often bound in with his other works or lost, hidden perhaps deep in library collections.
The Roman numerals on the titles above refer to numbers in Davies, A Memoir of the York Press, 1868.
One must also mention one very curious piece of printing with which he was involved. In 1739-40 the River Ouse froze over in the severe winter. Thomas Gent obviously took his press out onto the ice to earn a few pence by printing broadsides as commemorative souvenirs for visitors with their individual names printed on them. Here is a rare copy, again from the Edward Hailstone collection preserved at the Minster Library in York.
Gent’s affairs, we may perceive, were beginning to decline at the time when his autobiography ends. In 1740 through financial and family problems he was forced to leave Coffee-House Yard that had been a printing shop for 100 years and moved to the building that he had purchased in Petergate. He continued to reside at his house in Petergate; but new and more enterprising printers arose in that northern metropolis; till, at length, Gent’s press became in little demand, meaning his already meagre financial resources became desperate. His topographical resources were apparently exhausted in his three works on York, Rippon, and Hull; and the later publication of his “History of the East Window in York Minster,”, which he published in 1762, whilst this latter work is fascinating and packed with information and images it is not to the standards of his earlier research, when, as historian Richard Gough stated, he was sinking under age and necessity. [British Topography, vol. ii. p. 428.]
It was on April 1st, 1761 that his wife, Alice died and was buried in the cemetery of St Olave’s church, St Marygate. Intimate details of her death tucked within the text of one of his later works. As indicated, by now his circumstances were much reduced in the last decades of his life, struggling with illness, and poverty, relying on the charity of friends.
Still, he had friends who respected him, and were willing to assist. As already mentioned a portrait was painted of him by Nathan Drake, a family who were particularly attentive to him in his older age. This portrait appears to have been exhibited for his benefit and a play was also twice performed, again for his benefit. These things contributed “To smooth the harsh severities of age;”.
One can feel a great empathy and sympathy for Gent at this period of his life, it is recorded that books filled every hole and corner of his Petergate house. However, to these cherished companions of his life he clung tenaciously. He was to write a brief note.
Teachers of wisdom! Who would more beguile His tedious hours and lighten every toil.
He remained impoverished but clung tenaciously to his old books, his scanty belongings, and his Petergate house, where, in May 1778, he died, aged eighty-six. In his will and his writings Gent had desired to be buried near the remains of his “Dear” that is his wife Alice. But the executor renounced his office; and Thomas Gent was laid in the parish church of St. Michael-le-Belfry, where, adds Davies, “more than fifty years before, he and his wife had wept together over the grave of their infant and only child.”
In summary, it is a fact that Gent remains underestimated as a historian and antiquary, and Joseph Hunter’s comments remain as true day as when first written in the 1830s; “Gent’s performances were not, like too many modern books of topography, mere bundles of pillage from the works of ingenious and painstaking authors, but contained matter honestly collected, and not, before his time, made public by the press.”
Indeed, it may be that the products of his press have crude aspect and the wood engraved images leave something to be desired, whilst having a charm all their own. However, his works retain a very real value for gleaning facts about the past otherwise lost to us. So perhaps whilst his books are not always easy to use, they remain an invaluable quarry of information for those with the patience to seek them out, They are his legacy to us, collectable, a delight and of real value, as in the main his “facts” are just that and worthy of exploration.
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.
Copyright Rickaro Books
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 visorDetail; 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.
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.
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.
Caveat emptor, as they say. We recently made a considered purchase of what I regarded to be a deliberate “fake”, by persons unknown, of a volume 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. We purchased this to have in our collection an example of just such an item as it has a certain curiosity value in its own right and makes for a good exemplar.
The volume in question purports to be the presentation copy of “All Our Yesterdays” by H. M. Tomlinson. The problems that I note regarding this volume are: 1. incorrect bookplate; 2. suspicious and weak inscription; 3. in just too good a condition. It is too bright and clean and “Clouds Hill” books rarely have dust wrappers. Would you agree with this assessment? The actual “Clouds Hill” copy may be out there somewhere. Do you have it perhaps?
I write here as a warning that such items are in the market place, but of course the collector must always decide for themselves if an item is genuine or not! It is well known that these volumes are catalogued in some detail, indicating publishing points and other features, in “T.E. Lawrence by His Friends” published in 1937 shortly after TE’s death. Indeed this section of the volume may lend itself to being used as a kind of “faker’s bible”.
The actual books were mainly widely dispersed by A.W. Lawrence and the majority bear a small, retro fitted, bookplate to identify them as coming from Clouds Hill. 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 correct bookplate and the other with a “second state” or “fake”. I have never come across a book with provenance containing the “fake” plate. In our possession is a fine set of original photographs of the interior of Clouds Hill taken shortly after TE’s death. The exciting thing is, these are so clear that very occasionally and with the aid of a magnifying glass, we can spot the title on the shelf. Not that this necessarily identifies the actual volume, unless it is in a special binding, such as a volume recently sold at Bonhams. So one generally needs additional marks of provenance or the correct Clouds Hill bookplate.
“Fake” bookplate
Genuine bookplate
A further thing to add here, is that A.W. Lawrence retained a few of the books, only disposing of them many years later when he was living near Pateley Bridge in Yorkshire and these do not have the Clouds Hill bookplate, but can usually be identified by other means of provenance and possibly the presence of a pencilled “TEL” or in books acquired after 1923 a “TES”. We know the titles of some of these books and have some details, but again it is caveat emptor. Three examples below are of the initials contained in books lacking any bookplate, the two on either side are taken from a notebook of the A.W. Lawrence books, the centre image is a first edition of D.H. Lawrence’s “The White Peacock.
“White Peacock” entry in “Friends”.
The catalogue in “Friends” is substantially complete, indicating the books present in Clouds Hill at the time of TE’s death. A copy of the 1937 “Friends” formerly in the possession of A.W. Lawrence contains pencil notes of a very few omissions and later communication from A.W. indicated that the 1926 “Seven Pillars” was removed for security reasons prior to the catalogue being compiled.
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.
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.
“I read novels with the utmost pertinacity. I look upon them-I look upon good novels-as a very valuable part of literature, conveying more exact and finely-distinguished knowledge of the human heart and mind than almost any other, with greater depth and fewer constraints.”
Patrick O’Brian places these words into the mouth of one of his great “heroes” Stephen Maturin, surgeon, naturalist, philosopher, and sometime spy. The statement can be related to and is most certainly true of O’Brian’s own great series of naval tales. It might be considered that these really began with the two earlier, stand-alone naval novels, set in the time of George Anson’s 1740-1744 circumnavigation voyage of the globe. These are The Golden Ocean of 1956 and The Unknown Shore of 1959. Perhaps rather surprisingly these were initially designated for “younger readers”, however they can most certainly be read and enjoyed by readers of any age. They tell of adventure and friendship and are the foretaste of things to come with the Roman à clef of the Aubrey/Maturin novels set during the period of the Napoleonic War.
These comprise twenty volumes with a fragmentary twenty-first and are so admirably written that they can be read and re-read without growing stale and can be explored for the infinitely displayed detail and humour. They tell of the escapades and adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and his particular friend Stephen Maturin. They perfectly capture the style and feel of the Georgian period and the comparison with the writings of Jane Austen is not hyperbole. This period feel is made possible through the result of an exquisite and extensive reading of contemporary literature by O’Brian, providing an authentic sense of place within the early nineteenth century, augmented by the use of correct period reference works. In the reading of them one can discover an infinity of minute detail as well as the joy of two “particular” friends.
These naval tales (as they were called by O’Brian) were initially edited for the publisher Collins by Richard Ollard, himself a writer of history and a biographer. The Aubrey/ Maturin series commenced publication in 1969, with Master and Commander, although the germ of the idea was apparently set much earlier by O’Brian. Originally commissioned by the American publisher Lippincott and first published in the USA in 1969 it was officially released in the United Kingdom in 1970. However, as indicated by Arthur Cunningham in his bibliography and confirmed by the letter of Richard Ollard accompanying a finished volume, copies of the UK edition were available in December of 1969. The British Library acquisition is dated 12th December 1969 and this is confirmed by the date of the Ollard letter of five days later 17th December 1969, that was sent to the Daily Express with the book.
The final published volume in the series Blue at the Mizzen appeared in 1999, shortly before O’Brian’s death in 2000. A small fragment of a twenty-first book was later to appear in print posthumously.
The Aubrey/Maturin novels were principally written at the O’Brians’ home in Collioure situated on the coast in the very south of France and first read and typed by his beloved second wife, Mary. Indeed, a number of the volumes bear various printed dedications to Mary, as in the first, Master and Commander, “Mariae lembi nostril duci et magistrae do dedico”.
The Aubrey/Maturin tales have been acclaimed by many and certainly outstrip the majority of his predecessor writers of naval stories, they indeed stand comparison with the works of Melville and Conrad and will surely live on as great literature forever.
As so beautifully written by Emily Dickinson;
There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away
This is most certainly true of the novels of Patrick O’Brian and I rather envy those who have yet to board a voyage of reading them for the very first time.
References;
O’Brian, Patrick, Master and Commander, William Collins, 1969
Cunningham A.E. (ed.), Patrick O’Brian Critical Appreciations and a Bibliography, British Library, 1994.
Tolstoy, Nikolai, Patrick O’Brian, A Very Private Life, Harper Collins, 2019.
