Sea and Sardinia was Mr. Lawrence’s second volume of travel sketches—only “travel” and “sketches” are not quite the words needed here. In any case, a glorious book. Something will be gained if all persons ignorant of Sea and Sardinia (and Twilight in Italy) stop pretending to a full knowledge of Mr. Lawrence’s prose. Because the book has nowhere had the reading it deserves, the first issues of Sea and Sardinia, both American and English, are still relatively easy to get.
(19A)
SEA AND SARDINIA
Published April 1923
Sea and Sardinia / By D. H. Lawrence / With Eight Pictures / in Colour by Jan Juta / London / Martin Secker / Number Five John Street Adelphi
Collation:—pp. 304 (together with frontispiece and seven pages of illustrations in color, by Jan Juta), consisting of blank leaf, pp. (1, 2); half-title (with list of five books By the same Author on verso), pp. (3, 4); frontispiece; title-page, as above (with London: Martin Secker (Ltd.), 1923 at foot of verso), pp. (5, 6); table of Contents (verso blank), pp. (7, 8); List of Illustrations (verso blank), pp. (9, 10); divisional half-title (verso blank), pp. (11, 12); text, pp. 13-301. Printers’ imprint, beneath thin line, at foot of p. 301 as follows: Printed by the London and Norwich Press, Limited, London and Norwich Pp. (302-304) are occupied respectively by advertisements of books by D. H. Lawrence; by Norman Douglas; and by Lascelles Abercrombie. Pp. (5), 112, 144, 160, 176, 192, 208, 240 are faced by tipped-in illustrations in color.
Foolscap 4to, 8½ × 6¾; issued in brown cloth; front cover, unlettered, has in blind two-line border, inside line thicker than outside; backbone ornamented and lettered across in gilt as follows: (one thin, one thick line at top) / Sea and / Sardinia / (dot) / D. H. / Lawrence / Secker / (one thick, one thin line at bottom). Back cover same as front. Inside covers, front and back, are occupied by same Map for Sea and Sardinia, in brown, drawn by D. H. Lawrence. Top edges very dark green and cut; fore and bottom edges untrimmed. End-papers white.
Except for size, the English edition of Sea and Sardinia is uniform with the Seeker format of Mr. Lawrence’s novels, beginning with The Lost Girl. It is a beautiful book. Indeed, taken merely as a book, this is perhaps the most beautiful Lawrence item.