In the Shadow of the Crescent: Newcombe auction results

INTRODUCTION

Colonel Stewart Francis Newcombe was already a legend in the deserts of Arabia before he was joined in Cairo during the early months of the First World War by a a remarkable team of Middle Eastern specialists. One member of this group was T.E. Lawrence who went on to achieve worldwide fame. Colonel Newcombe's story, like those of other unsung figures in the Anglo-Arabian narrative, has been eclipsed by the legend of ´Lawrence of Arabia´, and has languished in the dusty recesses of regimental records, government files or in the elliptical words of Lawrence’s book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. However, S.F. Newcombe´s untold story is there to be told. IN THE SHADOW OF THE CRESCENT is a story of extraordinary exploits and courage, coupled with Newcombe's own legendary and inexhaustible supply of energy and of remarkable adventures under the very noses of the Ottoman authorities – full of danger, intrigue and perhaps more surprisingly, of romance during Newcombe's captivity in Turkey.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Newcombe auction results

On Wednesday 19 March 2014 Bonhams held an auction of T.E. Lawrence and Stewart Newcombe related items with an impeccable provenance direct from the Newcombe family. A wonderful result was realised with the very first lot (139) which sold way above the estimate. The whole collection realised £196,874. I was present at the preview at Bonhams on the Sunday before the sale and the Newcombe/Lawrence collection was well presented and obviously a star attraction among a wide-ranging and diverse set of important lots relating to Captain Cook, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Elizabeth 1, Shakespeare, Shelley, Churchill, Christy Brown, E.M. Forster and many others.

Newcombe's field notes

I found the Newcombe field notes packed full of interest and it was a real pleasure to spend time with them. The lot consisted of two Army Field Service Correspondence Books—issued to British Army Officers to record their activities, enemy positions and deployments, etc.—a larger note book used as a diary, mostly for the month of July 1917, and a wealth of loose papers including letters to Lawrence and other fellow officers. The price they eventually realised is proof of the continuing interest in T.E. Lawrence and with the added appeal of the Newcombe story that is only now being revealed. All but one lot realised on or above its top estimate, with the field notes exceeding expectations and with only Lot 149 (The Mint) not reaching its lowest estimate of £4000 and not selling.

I am grateful to Mr Simon Roberts of the Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs Department for referencing this website in the auction catalogue for background information on Newcombe’s life.

Here are the auction results:

Lot 139

LAWRENCE, NEWCOMBE and THE ARAB REVOLT

Original field books and other papers kept by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Francis Newcombe during operations to destroy the Hejaz Railway in 1917, mostly July 1917.

Sold for £104,500 (€124,657) inc. premium

NOTE: This was well above the estimated price of £20,000 to 30,000

Lot 140

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Autograph letter signed (".L."), to Colonel S.F. Newcombe ("Dear S.-F."), apologising yet again for being a bad letter-writer, 16 February 1920: IN THE EYES OF "THOSE WHO KNOW" I FAILED' – LAWRENCE OF ARABIA ON HIS OWN LEGEND

Estimate £4,000 - 6,000

Sold for £13,750 (€16,402) inc. premium

Lot 141

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Autograph letter signed ("E.L." and "L."), to Colonel S.F. Newcombe ("Dear S.F.N."), apologising for being such a bad correspondent: 'YOU CAN'T MAKE WAR UPON REBELLION' – LAWRENCE OF ARABIA ON IRELAND'S STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE, All Souls College, Oxford, 16 November [1920]

Estimate £1,000 - 1,500

Sold for £2,750 (€3,280) inc. premium

Lot 142

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Autograph letter signed ("TEL."), to Colonel S.F. Newcombe ("Dear S.F.N."), complaining of the brutal behaviour of France as a colonial power in the Middle East, Amman, 8 November 1921

Estimate £1,000 - 1,500

Sold for £4,375 (€5,218) inc. premium

Lot 143

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Autograph letter signed ("TEL."), to Colonel S.F. Newcombe (Dear S.F.N."), announcing his enlistment and discussing portraits for Seven Pillars, 15 October 1922

Estimate £2,000 - 3,000

Sold for £4,750 (€5,666) inc. premium

Lot 144

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a triumph, SUBSCRIBERS' EDITION, ONE OF 170 COMPLETE COPIES, S.F. NEWCOMBE'S COPY, [Privately Printed] for the Author by Manning Pike and H. J. Hodgson, 1926

Estimate £30,000 - 40,000

Sold for £50,000 (€59,644) inc. premium

Lot 145

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

The Odyssey of Homer, [translated by T.E. Lawrence], LIMITED TO 530 COPIES, PRESENTATION COPY FROM T.E. LAWRENCE TO HIS GODSON, STEWART LAWRENCE NEWCOMBE, Emery Walker, Wilfred Merton and Bruce Rogers, 1932

Estimate £4,000 - 6,000

Sold for £5,625 (€6,710) inc. premium

Lot 146

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Autograph letter signed ("T.E.S."), to Colonel S.F. Newcombe ("Dear S-F"), making contact again after a long interval, Myrtle Cottage, Hythe, 22 June 1932

Estimate £600 - 800

Sold for £1,750 (€2,087) inc. premium

Lot 147

LAWRENCE BY KENNINGTON

Memorial photograph of Eric Kennington's bust of Lawrence of Arabia, taken in a dramatic raking light against a pitch dark background, signed and dated in the month of Lawrence's death by the artist ("Eric H. Kennington/ May 1935"), May 1935

Estimate £600 - 800

Sold for £1,062 (€1,267) inc. premium

Lot 148

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

A Letter from T.E. Lawrence to His Mother, S.F. NEWCOMBE'S COPY, NUMBER 22 OF 12 ON BARCHAM GREEN MEDWAY PAPER, FROM AN EDITION OF 30 COPIES, Corvinus Press for Mrs Lawrence, August 1936

Estimate £2000 - 3000

Sold for £3,750 (€4,473) inc. premium

Lot 149

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

The Mint. Notes Made in the R.A.F. Depot Betwen August and December 1922, and at Cadet College in 1925. By 352087 A/c Ross, FIRST EDITION, NUMBER 4 OF 10 COPIES 'FOR SALE', FROM AN EDITION OF 50, A.W. LAWRENCE AND S.F. NEWCOMBE'S COPY, Garden City, Doubleday, Doran, 1936

Estimate £4,000 - 6,000

NOT SOLD

Lot 150

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Crusader Castles, 2 vol., S.F. NEWCOMBE'S COPY, Golden Cockerel Press, 1936

Estimate £500 - 700

Sold for £1,000 (€1,192) inc. premium

Lot 151

HART (LIDDELL) and RONALD STORRS

Lawrence of Arabia, S.F. NEWCOMBE'S COPY, NUMBER 73 OF 70 ON BARCHAM GREEN MEDWAY PAPER, Corvinus Press, 22 May 1936

Estimate £600 - 800

Sold for £1,125 (€1,342) inc. premium

Lot 152

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

The Diary of T.E. Lawrence 1911, S.F. NEWCOMBE'S COPY, NUMBER 160 OF 130 ON PARCHMENT SUBSTITUTE PAPER, Corvinus Press, June 1937

Estimate £800 - 1200

Sold for £1,500 (€1,789) inc. premium

Lot 153

LAWRENCE (T.E.)

Secret Despatches from Arabia, S.F. NEWCOMBE'S COPY, NUMBER 638 OF 970 COPIES, 1939; Men in Print, NUMBER 301 OF 470 COPIES, 1940, Golden Cockerel Press (2))

Estimate £600 - 800

Sold for £937 (€1,118) inc. premium

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BEYOND ARABIA

Colonel Stewart Francis Newcombe of the Royal Engineers was already a legend in the deserts of Arabia before he was joined in Cairo during the early months of the First World War by a group of extraordinary specialists in Middle Eastern affairs. One member of this group was T.E. Lawrence who went on to achieve worldwide fame. Newcombe's story, like those of other unsung figures in the Anglo-Arabian panoply, has been eclipsed by the legend of ´Lawrence of Arabia´, and has languished in the dusty recesses of regimental records, government files or in the elliptical words of Lawrence’s book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. However, Newcombe´s untold story is there to be told. It is a story of extraordinary exploits and courage, coupled with his own legendary and inexhaustible supply of energy. Lawrence was later to describe him in Seven Pillars: 'Newcombe is like fire,' they (the Arabs) used to complain; ‘he burns friend and enemy’.

It is as a loyal friend to Lawrence – a loyalty that remained steadfast to the end – that Newcombe is best remembered. But his own story is one of remarkable adventures under the very noses of the Ottoman authorities – full of danger, intrigue and perhaps more surprisingly, of romance during Newcombe's captivity in Turkey. His post-war work for the Boundary Commission in Palestine and his efforts at securing a lasting peace for his friends in the region have gone largely unrecorded or mis-represented. The aim of this biography is to set that record straight and to help restore Newcombe to his rightful place - recognised among those who played an important part in the Great War during the Palestine campaigns and as someone who made a significant contribution to the peace negotiations with Turkey while under cover in Constantinople. Later, his post-war work helped shape the history and politics of the modern Middle East through his work with the Boundary Commission and his life-long friendship with many of the key personalities within the Arab and Jewish communities. Above all, he should be remembered as someone who contributed to the legends of Arabian exploration through exhaustive survey work in Sinai and Palestine, mapping the past as well as the future.

BEYOND ARABIA is in preparation.

WILLIAM ROBERTS R.A.

William Roberts (5 June 1895 - 20 January 1980) was an English painter and war artist. He was a founder member of the influential Vorticist group, a powerful recorder of the front-line battles of the First World War, and a unique observer of the foibles and activities of Britain at leisure over almost fifty years. In 1922–6 he was commissioned to produce illustrations and decorations for Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom including this pencil drawing of S.F. Newcombe.

This from William Roberts, Five Posthumous Essays and Other Writings (Valencia, 1990).

"In 1920 Colin Gill, who had been a fellow-student at the Slade, sent me a note saying 'Colonel Lawrence is seeking artists to make portrait drawings for a book he is producing; get in touch with him.' I wrote to Lawrence and as a result I contributed several portrait drawings to 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom,' besides a painting of Lawrence in his Royal Air Force uniform. He sat for this portrait in a room I was using at Coleherne Terrace, Earl's Court. Sometimes if I was late for our meeting I found him sitting on the dark stairs that led to my temporary studio. He lent me during several Summers his small woodman's cottage at Clouds Hill in Dorset."

John Mansfield CREALOCK, R.H.A., 1871-1959

This fabulous oil painting by the artist John Crealock was painted in 1938 when Newcombe was aged sixty and working on proposals for what may be called a bi-nation state in Palestine, with limited and controlled immigration and absorption of Jews according to the physical and economic capacity of the country. Newcombe argued and lobbied this position to whoever in authority would listen. He set up committees to counter-balance the Zionist message, gaining access to high level ministers of state including the Prime Minister. He submitted his evidence to the Palestine Royal Commission, invited guests sympathetic to the cause to the Royal Central Asian Society Dinner Club, of which he was Honorary Secretary, and wrote articles for magazines and periodicals such as The Empire Review under the auspices of the Palestine Information Centre, where he also held the post of Honorary Secretary.

For more information on the artist, please see the blog entry 18 November 2011 entitled, ‘Recently discovered oil painting of Colonel S.F. Newcombe.’

Lawrence and staff at Aqaba

AQABA: Lawrence and his colleagues set up quite decent camping arrangements. With a Persian carpet at its hearth entrance this tent was equipped with beds and rudimentary washing facilities. The guy-lines of the tent were secured with pegs and with the additional weight of a sand bag at each corner, evidence that the weather in the desert could whip up quite a strong wind. Lawrence’s tent also possessed a gramophone player which was put outside on a tall table during the regular gatherings with fellow British officers. A box of records kept the men entertained and one or two pets were introduced for added distraction. Major Scott, base commander at Aqaba, holds a terrier name "Robert". Captain Goslett strokes a saluki named "Shorter".

CHRONOLOGY: Part One

S.F. Newcombe (1878 - 1956)

9 July 1878 - Born at Brecon, Wales.

1886 - Newcombe's father, Edward, dies and he is sent to board at Christ's Hospital School with younger brother Harley.

1893 - Attended Felstead School.

1896 - Enters the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich as a Gentleman Cadet. Awarded the Sword of Honoue at the RMA.

1898 - Commissioned into the Royal Engineers at Chatham.

1900 - Joins the 29th Fortress Company at Cape Town, South Africa.

1901 - Joins the Egyptian Army and posted to Sudan. Reconnoitered route for proposed railway east and west of the Nile.

Queen Victoria dies on 22 January.

1907 - Journeyed to upper waters of the Nile to recon and discuss with Belgians possible rail route from Lado Enclave to Belgian Congo.

1909 - Sends secret report on Alexandretta and Baghdad Railway to the War Office.

1911 - Preliminary survey of railway from Abyssinia to Khatoum.

Leaves Egyptian Army. Short spell in the War Office.

1912 - Longmoor Military Railway Training Camp.

1913 - Begins surveys in area of Beersheba, Palestine.

1914 - Surveys in South West Palestine south to Egyptian border. For six weeks he and his men are accompanied by C.L. Woolley and T.E. Lawrence, two archaeologists from the British Museum. Addresses the 49th Annual Meeting of the Palestine Exploration Fund.

Outbeak of World War 1.

August 1914 - At Compiegne during the retreat from Mons. Successfully blows up the bridge.

Recalled from France he travels with T.E. Lawrence from Marseilles to Alexandria and then onto Cairo by train.

1915 - Appointed as Commander in the 2nd Australian Division Royal Engineers during the Dardenelles campaign.

1916 - Awarded DSO for rescue attempt in a tunnelling operation.

Returns to the Western Front and distinguishes himself during the battle for Pozieres Ridge.

Sherif Hussein of Mecca launches the Arab Revolt.

1917 - Joins T.E. Lawrence in the Hejaz as head of the Military Mission. Commences raids against the Hejaz Railway.

In late October he takes command of a small mobile force and initiates a raid behind enemy lines during the Third Battle of Gaza. His force is overwhelmed and he and his men are taken into captivity.

1918 - Escaped from prison camp at Brusa with assistance from Elizabeth Chaki. Returns to Constantinople to help broker peace negotiations with the Turks.

11 November 1918 - The Armistice comes into effect.

1919 - Briefly joins Lawrence at the Paris Peace Conference.

15 April 1919 - Marries Elizabeth (Elsie) Chaki in the Registry Office at Henrietta Street, Covent Garden and the following day is blessed in a religious service in St. Margaret's in the grounds of Westminster Abbey.

In the Shadow of the Crescent

INTRODUCTION

Friday, March 21, 2014

Newcombe auction results

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Beyond Arabia, Oxford

Southampton University

NEWCOMBE, ARABIA, 1917

ARTICLES ON THIS WEBSITE

New Service Colt .455 Revolver

BEYOND ARABIA

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FEATURED ARTIST No. 1

WILLIAM ROBERTS R.A.

FEATURED ARTIST NO. 2

John Mansfield CREALOCK, R.H.A., 1871-1959

Newcombe's Field Notes

Lawrence and staff at Aqaba

CHRONOLOGY: Part One

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