T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 480

To Hogarth 3.XII.26 This is a scribble from Uxbridge, where I hang for three days before embarking on the SS Derbyshire, for Karachi, the "A" Chang again a few days before being definitely posted to an up-country station. I will write to you as soon as I get fixed out there, and give you an address. Meanwhile the copies of my Seven Pillars are beginning to trickle out. The majority will be delivered before Christmas, & the balance before the end of January. I am pleased with the printing & binding & the end-papers, & some of the tail-pieces & plates. Your copy is being specially bound, & will be among the last ones. The books are being sent out by my printer, Manning Pls.e, from 25 Charles Street, Queensgate Road, London W. eleven. I have asked him to send to you four complete copies, if the surplus is four: and four incomplete copies, if the surplus is four. "Complete" copies are so signed on p.XIX and are the identic things sent to subscribers. "Incomplete" copies are so signed, and are the things I'm giving to the fellows with me in Arabia. There are not many incompletes, so that I can't send them to very many: but fortunately I haven't the addresses of many of them. Three who should have it are Boyle, Snagge, & Dowson. Boyle is now an Admiral, Snagge was O.C. HMS Humber, & was a regular naval officer. Dowson was Survey of Egypt. I do not know their whereabouts, & have asked ...e to send their copies to your house. I know you have not much room, but will house them temporarily till we find out where these three are. The other four-whatever-it-is surplus incomplete copies are for certain Arabians, whom we may remember later. For the present I have sent copies as gifts to Wavell (of Palestine), Porten (... ....), Bailey (Armourer cars), Bassett (Lieut), Garstin (Major), Goldie (Egypt), Joyce, Leeson (... ...), Newcombe, Stirling, Scott(anon), Winston, Col.Wilson, Wordie, Marshall, Lloyd, Brodie (Talbot Battery), Clayton (Gilbert, Frazer-Tytler (Chel.), (Robin Buxton, Guy Dawnay, McMahon, Martington, Salmond(G), Gen. Maxwell, Fielding, Alan Dawnay, Francis Rodd, Young, Storrs, Fraide, Allenby. And yourself have received or are about to receive complete copies. This makes the complete catalogue of Arabians-in-the-lists. Any notable lacunae please tell me, & I'll say whether I feel generous towards them or not. You know them all better than I, & I want to use your house as a store for these unallotted eight or ten copies for this reason, mainly. I have also asked McInish, the binders of many of the copies, to send care of you a special copy, with two extra plates, which they are binding for me. This will not arrive till the New Year. I want you to keep it, please, till I can come back & look at it. The difference between complete & incomplete copies lies only in th plates. Completes have about 60 plates, & incompletes 20 or 30. Their second-hand values will be very X far apart.