The Odyssey.
London: Printed and published by Sir Emery Walker, Wilfred Merton and Bruce Rogers, 1932. First and Limited Edition. Full leather. In 1932, T. E. Lawrence “of Arabia” published a translation of Homer’s The Odyssey designed by celebrated American typographer and type designer Bruce Rogers (1870-1957). Lawrence’s Odyssey was a masterpiece, an aesthetically magnificent book and a highly regarded translation. This is the first, limited, and finely bound edition, in near fine condition, housed in a black cloth slipcase.
The binding is clean, unfaded, square, and tight, with only mild, superficial scuffs and blemishes. The contents are lovely, clean and bright with no previous owner names. We note only a hint of trivial spotting which appears confined to the endpapers. The gilt top edge remains bight, with minor scuffs. The untrimmed fore and bottom edges are notably clean. The accompanying slipcase is stout, covered in black cloth and lined with black paper. Condition of the slipcase is near fine, with minor shelf scuffs and blemishes.
T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935) achieved fame from his remarkable odyssey as instigator, organizer, hero, and tragic figure of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, which he began as an eccentric junior intelligence officer and ended as “Lawrence of Arabia.” However, Lawrence’s literary and intellectual reach far exceeded the world and words of Seven Pillars of Wisdom. To the point, Lawrence’s friend and admirer Winston Churchill said: “Lawrence had a full measure of the versatility of genius… He was a savant as well as a soldier. He was an archaeologist as well as a man of action. He was an accomplished scholar as well as an Arab partisan. He was a mechanic as well as a philosopher.”
Bruce Rogers (1870-1957) was one of the most distinguished typographers and book designers of his time. "Inspired by reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Bruce Rogers persuaded Lawrence to undertake a new translation of The Odyssey. Begun in 1928 and published in 1932, the translation was undertaken during Lawrence's free time while serving in the ranks. It was published in a beautiful edition of 530 copies by Emery Walker, Wilfred Merton, and Bruce Rogers."
Lawrence’s and Rogers’ Odyssey was one of the last major works printed by Emery Walker Ltd while he was still actively involved in the company. In 1888, the year of Lawrence's birth, it was Walker who inspired William Morris to found the Kelmscott Press. Morris in turn had inspired both Lawrence and Bruce Rogers to become interested in fine printing. In a sense, their magnificent 1932 Odyssey brought the story full circle. For Lawrence, Rogers, and Walker were living legends.
The edition is unpretentiously beautiful, bound in unadorned full black Niger Morocco and printed on grey, handmade, watermarked paper with gilt top edge and untrimmed fore and bottom edges. The text contains 26 roundels printed in black on gold leaf at the head of each book and title page, which were commissioned and designed by Bruce Rogers. In "Bruce Rogers. A Life in Letters, " Joseph Blumenthal describes this volume; "I believe the Bruce Rogers Odyssey is indisputably amongst the most beautiful books ever produced. It is difficult to describe a work of genius. In The Odyssey without tricks or accessory decoration, with a classic austerity akin to the timeless proportions of the Parthenon, with only type and paper and ink, with consummate skill, Rogers created a masterpiece".
Lawrence was not a classicist, but he was unequivocally brilliant. Moreover, Lawrence’s bonafides were perhaps singular among the many Odyssey translators: “I have hunted wild boars and watched wild lions. Built boats and killed many men. So I have odd knowledges that qualify me to understand the Odyssey, and odd experiences that interpret it to me.” The result is a translation regarded as vivid, idiosyncratic, and more endowed with personality than fidelity – which perhaps explains its enduring appeal. His official biographer, Jeremy Wilson, wrote in 2014 “Lawrence's translation has been continuously in print for more than 80 years. By that yardstick it is second only to Seven Pillars of Wisdom among his literary achievements.”
References: O’Brien A141; Churchill, Great Contemporaries; Blumenthal, Bruce Rogers. A Life in Letters; Wilson, Translating the Bruce Rogers 'Odyssey'. Item #008932
Price: $9,000.00