GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON JR.'S PERSONAL COPY OF ALLENBY OF ARMAGEDDON, BOLDLY SIGNED BY HIM

(PATTON, George S.) SAVAGE, Raymond. Allenby of Armageddon. A Record of the Career and Campaigns of Field-Marshal Viscount Allenby. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, (1926). Octavo, original red cloth. Housed in custom half morocco clamshell box. $5500.

First edition of this biography of Field-Marshal Allenby—this memorable association copy belonging to General George S. Patton Jr., boldly signed and dated by him in pencil on the front free endpaper, "Geo. S. Patton, 1926."

"General George S. Patton Jr. has earned a place in the pantheon of authentic American heroes…. [Yet] his great success on the battlefield did not come about by chance…. He read voraciously… During the interwar years Patton consulted an eclectic list of the famous and the lesser known, ranging from Napoleon and Clausewitz to du Picq, Jomini, Cromwell, Xenophon and Frederick the Great" (D'Este, Patton, 3-4, 317-18). No other military leader wrote so frequently in his letters or diary what he was reading, and no leader's library was so well-documented since Napoleon's. Patton's library, which was almost entirely inherited by his son, Major General George Patton III, was given to West Point, with just a small portion of books, including these volumes, inherited by other descendants or friends. This rare association copy of Savage's Allenby of Armageddon—Patton's own copy—is boldly signed and dated "1926" by him on the front free endpaper.

British Field Marshal Edmund Allenby fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, first in France and then leading the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire—T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") served under Allenby's command. After the war Allenby served as High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan from 1919 until 1925. Savage's military biography is illustrated with photographs.

Faint dampstain through text, chiefly marginal, some other signs of damp, mild discoloration to cloth, spine faded. Patton often traveled with what he was reading, even on campaigns, and his books typically show signs of substantial wear. A very good association copy of this military biography.