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Photo 1/20 du lota lot of books that are stacked on top of each otheran old book with a black and white title on ita painting of a view of a city with a statue in the foregroundan old black and white photo of a room with a fireplacean open book with a drawing of ruins in the middle of itan open book with a drawing of egyptian writing on itan old picture of a sphinx in front of the pyramidsan open book with a drawing of a piece of paper on itan old book with a black and white title on itan old black and white photo of a boat in the wateran old picture of a book with a picture of a city in the backgroundan old picture of a group of people in a rooman old book with black writing on it sitting on a tabledrawing of a black bird perched on a branch of a treean old book with a drawing of a snake and a snake ' s headan old book with a black and white title on itan open book with a map of the world on itan old book with a bunch of numbers on ittwo old books are sitting on a table next to each other
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41 - DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT, OR A COLLECTION OF OBSERVATIONS AND RE…
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Estimate €12,000 - €18,000
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Description
DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT, OR A COLLECTION OF OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH CARRIED OUT IN EGYPT DURING THE FRENCH ARMY’S EXPEDITION. Second edition, dedicated to the King, published by C.-L.-F. Panckoucke. Paris, C.-L.-F. Panckoucke’s Printing Works, 1822–1826. Set of 12 large folio volumes, in the so-called ‘grand aigle’ format, in mahogany half-calf, smooth spine divided by broad black fillets and decorated with gilt scrolls and fillets, title and volume numbers in gilt (contemporary binding). Eleven atlas volumes accompanied by a volume containing the table of plates. Some old repairs to the bindings, scattered foxing, two repaired tears in the lower margin of plate 31 in volume III of the ‘Antiquities’, a small, faint water stain in the lower corner of the first 20 folios of volume 1 of this same section. SECOND EDITION OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY MONUMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND ARTISTIC PUBLISHING, PUBLISHED BY PANCKOUCKE IN A RUN OF 1,000 COPIES. It reproduces the plates from the original imperial edition, printed from the same copper plates, some of which were retouched for this new printing. The result of the work of the scholars, artists, engineers, architects and naturalists who accompanied Bonaparte on the Egyptian expedition (1798–1801), this encyclopaedic undertaking involved several hundred contributors. It stands as ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS ACCOUNTS OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION of a country in the early 19th century and made a decisive contribution to the rise of modern Egyptology and the spread of the ‘return from Egypt’. A REMARKABLE ICONOGRAPHIC COLLECTION OF ELEVEN VOLUMES OF PLATES, comprising views of monuments, architectural surveys, plans, topographical maps, depictions of antiquities, scenes of daily life, costumes, trades, animals and plants. Many of the engravings, whether double-page or fold-out, are mounted on tabs. The collection is organised as follows: ANTIQUITIES (5 volumes): 419 numbered PLATES, accompanied by an engraved frontispiece bearing the effigy of Louis XVIII, the ‘Egyptian Medal’ and ‘Description of the Painting’ sheets, a colour plate dated 1825 entitled ‘Facsimile of the Coloured Monuments of Egypt’, 8 plates containing 16 numbered figures relating to the intermediate inscription on the Rosetta Stone, a plate entitled ‘Products of the Engraving Machine’ and a ‘Double-page synoptic table of the constellations’. MODERN EDITION (2 volumes): 169 PLATES [out of 170], devoted in particular to cities, monuments, arts and crafts, costumes, portraits, everyday objects, inscriptions and medals. ONLY PLATE XXXI OF THE ‘ARTS AND CRAFTS’ SECTION IS MISSING, the last in this series, devoted to surgery. NATURAL HISTORY (3 volumes): 244 PLATES devoted to zoology, botany and mineralogy, including, in particular, remarkable depictions of Egyptian fauna and flora. GEOGRAPHICAL ATLAS (1 volume): a large topographical map of Egypt in 47 sheets, accompanied by supplementary maps and tables, totalling 53 cartographic and engraved plates. TABLE OF PLATES (2 pages). A SPECTACULAR COLLECTION OF THE ELEVEN ATLASES OF THE DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT, supplemented by a reference volume, in attractive and sturdy uniform bindings of the period, in GOOD CONDITION despite the few defects noted. The set is incomplete, lacking only plate XXXI from the ‘Arts and Crafts’ section, and does not include the 26 in-8 volumes of text published between 1821 and 1830. ¶ Brunet, II, col. 616–617 – Monglond, VIII, pp. 269–363 – De Meulenaere, pp. 66–70 – In French in the text, no. 219.
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About the sale Sale of Antique and Modern Books
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Auction time 11/12/2026 at 2:00 PM
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