T. E. Lawrence papers

The collection consists of manuscripts (by and about Lawrence), correspondence (including over 150 letters by Lawrence), photographs, drawings, reproductions and ephemera. Also included in the collection is research material of various Lawrence collectors and scholars. Correspondents represented in the collection include: Tom W. Beaumont, Brian Carter, Sir Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, Doubleday and Company, inc.,Theodora Duncan, David Garnett, Robert Graves, H. Montgomery Hyde, Augustus John, Jonathan Cape (Firm), Phillip Knightley, Pat T. Knowles, A.W. Lawrence, Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart, John Mack, Edwards H. Metcalf, Jeffrey Meyers, Robert Payne, Raymond Savage, Bernard Shaw, Charlotte Frances Payne-Townshend Shaw, Clare Sydney Smith, Sir Ronald Storrs, Lowell Thomas, and Jeremy Wilson. Significant language represented other than English: French.

Strengths of the collection: This collection has several strong points for the purpose of research. The collection contains over 150 letters by T.E. Lawrence, and approximately, 30 letters addressed to him. The collection also contains a typewritten draft of The Mint and various pages from his translation of The Odyssey. The real strength of the collection lies in the manuscripts and correspondence relating to Lawrence, his writing, the people who knew him, the Arab Revolt, and the Middle East. The collection contains very little early Lawrence manuscripts or letters, nor family or personal material.

The papers consist of the following series:

1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-8) are arranged alphabetically by author and title. This series includes one box of Lawrence manuscripts (Box 4), which includes a bound diary for 1911-1912, an early typewritten draft of The Mint, and several items relating to Lawrence's translation of The Odyssey. The majority of the manuscripts are about Lawrence, his life and writing, or were written by others about events relating to Lawrence.

Included in this series are articles, essays, lectures, publishers' material, R.A.F. certificates and forms, book reviews, and interviews. The series includes manuscripts by other authors, most notably, Richard Aldington, Gertrude Lowthian Bell, E.M. Forster, Golden Cockerel Press, Robert Graves, Augustus John, Basil Liddell Hart, John Mack, Clare Sydney Smith, and Walter Stirling.

2-3. Correspondence (Boxes 9-28) is arranged alphabetically by author. This series includes some personal and business letters of T.E. Lawrence, including letters to and from his agent, illustrator, and publishers concerning the publication of Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and Revolt in the Desert. Also included in this series are letters by Lawrence written from Clouds Hill, London, Cairo, and India, as well as from Bovington, Cranwell, Plymouth and Southampton.

This series also includes a large number of letters by other people, many of whom knew or worked with Lawrence; among others are Tom W. Beaumont, Sir Sydney Cockerell, Doubleday and Company, Robert Graves, H. Montgomery Hyde, Augustus John, Jonathan Cape (Firm), Eric Kennington, Pat T. Knowles, Basil Liddell Hart, Federic Manning, Robert Payne, Raymond Savage, Charlotte Shaw, Clare Sydney Smith, Ronald Storrs, and Lowell Thomas. There is also a small number of family letters from A.W. Lawrence and M.R. Lawrence.

4. Photographs, Prints, Drawings, Reproductions (Boxes 29-31) are arranged alphabetically by subject. Box 29 contains photographs and prints of Lawrence, as well as of people and places associated with Lawrence, including the Knowles family, Basil and Kathleen Liddell Hart, Clare Sydney Smith, and Clouds Hill. Box 30 contains photographs and negatives of the Carchemish Expedition ([1911-1914]). Box 31 contains original drawings and illustrations by Eric Kennington, Theodora Duncan, and Joan Hassall; also prints and reproductions by Augustus John, William Roberts, and Eric Kennington.

5. Other Scholars Material (Boxes 32-75) is arranged alphabetically by author and title. These boxes contain the manuscripts and correspondence of Lawrence collectors and scholars, which Edwards Metcalf either purchased or received. Included in this series is material from, among others, Doubleday & Co., Theodora Duncan, Phillip Knightley, John Mack, Jeffery Meyers, Desmond Stewart, and Jeremy Wilson; also included are Edwards Metcalf's Lawrence-related correspondence, bibliographies and lists.

6. Ephemera (Boxes 76-81) is arranged by subject, then alphabetically by author and title. Boxes 76-79 contain photocopies collected by Metcalf for his Lawrence research; these photocopies cannot be copied, reproduced or quoted. Also included in Boxes 79-81, are printed material, book reviews, and clippings.

7. Coin & Fine Art, Manuscript & Rare Book Dealers (Boxes 82-86 - RESTRICTED) are arranged alphabetically by individual name or company name; these boxes are restricted to staff use only. Included in these boxes are provenance, price and sale information for many of Metcalf's areas of collecting, including Lawrence, Sir Richard Burton, and to a lesser extent, camellias, fine printing and presses, and travel. 8. Unprocessed material (Temp boxes 1-7 - NOT AVAILABLE)