The Other Philby and Robert Headley

Almost forgotten in the scandalous publicity that surrounded his son's treason and defection to the USSR, Harry St. John Bridger Philby (1885-1960)comes to mind most recently perhaps in the book he shares with his son Kim, Anthony Cave Brown's Treason in the Blood (Houghton Mifflin, 1994).

But St. John Philby was noted as an Arabist, explorer, and writer in his own right. He went to the Middle East during World War One and rapidly made a name for himself; following the war he spent some years exploring Saudi Arabia and writing a series of books that "opened up" the unknown Arabian peninsula to readers around the world. His own copies of many of these works, such as the rare Southern Nejd (Cairo, 1919, printed in 100 copies) and Rub' al Kali (London, 1932),together with a substantial number of books from his library, including Wellsted's rare Travels in Arabia (London, 1838) now reside at Georgetown, part of the gift of books and papers of Robert W. Headley by his daughter, Hope Headley.

Robert W. Headley became one of the first Fulbright scholars following World War Two, studying in Oxford and Cairo. As an Arabist he had a distinguished career with Aramco and later with the CIA, serving as station chief in Oman for some years in the 1970s. His library, totaling more than 700 volumes, provides a valuable resource for the study of the history, language, literature, and culture of the Arabian peninsula, with special emphasis on Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen. His papers, together with a large number of maps, document some of his work in Arabia and form a valuable supplement to the collection of printed materials.