Description
From the library of Sir Anthony Eden, the first edition of Arabia, by British intelligence officer and advisor to Ibd Saud, St. John Philby.
Octavo, xix, 387pp. Green cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine. Light rubbing to boards, dust along top edge. Lacking dust jacket. Bookplate of Anthony Eden affixed to the front endpaper. Provenance: Bellmans Fine Art Auctioneers, the Library of Anthony and Clarissa Eden, 2023.
Sir Anthony Eden (1897-1977) served as the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1955-1957, following the retirement of Winston Churchill. Before World War II, Eden served as Foreign Secretary for Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, but resigned in protest of his appeasement policy towards the Axis powers. He returned to the office of Foreign Secretary during World War II, and retained that post for the remainder of the war. During his time as Prime Minister, Eden presided over the Suez Canal Crisis, which ended with the withdrawal of Western powers from the region and the eventual resignation of Eden.
