40 - LAWRENCE (T[homas]. E[dward]., known as Lawrence of Arabia)

LAWRENCE (T[homas]. E[dward]., known as Lawrence of Arabia) Miranshah, India [present-day Pakistan], July 22, 1928. Autograph letter signed “T. E. Shaw” to Herbert. 2 pages, in-12 format (17.3 x 10.8 cm). An amusing letter in which Lawrence requests funds for himself and Corporal Jack Easton. “We do not know who is now the paymaster in Peshawar, except that it is a temporary one, since Cpl. Smith is away. Would you be so kind as to place this note at his feet and beg him to do his best to fill our pockets? There is no rush: when he next sends money. I’d like to make it a standing order in my case:—to allow no accumulation of funds. I can make much better use of the money than the Government of India can.” In 1925, under the name “Shaw,” he enlisted in the Royal Tank Regiment. During his posting in Miranshah, India, he took advantage of this time to write *The Matrix*, an account of his years in the Royal Air Force, as well as a translation of Homer’s *Odyssey*. With writing as his main occupation, he asked his correspondent for news about his typewriter, as his old one was defective: “The ‘E’ on this one has taken to leaping out […] it leaped all over the table like a spring salmon before I came up with the gum arabic idea.” He gives a brief update on the town, sarcastically noting that “Miranshah is busy: a moral operation is being carried out in the hills to the southwest. The morals are ours, of course.” He adds in a postscript, in a more pointed tone, “‘If “pay” won’t listen to your charm, then let me know, and we’ll send “officials.”’” Shortly after this letter, in September 1928, a New York Times article ran a headline claiming that Colonel Lawrence was posing as “a Muslim saint” while spying on Bolshevik agents in India. Although this rumor was never proven, some critics pointed out the absurdity of Colonel Lawrence being sent to a hostile zone under a pseudonym (Shaw) and at a lower rank. The New York Times humorously raised the possibility that this was merely an “eccentricity” on the part of Colonel Lawrence, who wished to enjoy “the healthier climate of Amritsar.” The British government refuted the accusations but recalled Lawrence to England at the end of 1928. A few tears, as is to be expected at the folds; very slight foxing.