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De Maillet, Benoit; Le Mascrier, Jean Baptiste.
Description de Egypte, Contenant.
Publisher: Louis Genneau, à S. Pierre aux Liens et Jacques Rollin, Fils, à Saint Athanase, Paris;
Date of Publication: 1735
Stock Code: 14220
First Edition. Quarto, 2 parts in 1 volume, pp., xxi, [3], 328, 242, [10]. With an engraved portrait frontispiece of the author, fold-out map of Egypt, 5 plates and 2 fold-out plans as called for. Contemporary full mottled calf, gilt tooling to board edges, spine elegantly gilt-tooled, titles gilt to morocco spine-label, all edges sprinkled red. Spade-shield bookplate of William Constable of Burton Hall (1721-1791) to front paste-down. Joints cracked but holding well, boards scuffed and rubbed, top edge a little dusty. Contents clean and rather bright. A very good copy in a contemporary binding. A compendium of much that was known about Egypt at the time of publication, by Benoit de Maillet (1656– 738) French consul and inspector of institutions of the Levant, who was stationed at Cairo between 1692 and 1708. Based upon his correspondence of 14 letters with Jean-Baptiste Le Mascrier (1697-1760) the work contains detailed descriptions of the antiquities, architecture, customs, plants, and animals of the region. The plates depict mummies, a plan of the Great Pyramid at Giza, obelisks, and a hippopotamus. William Constable, esq, was the owner of Burton-Constable Hall, one of the finest country houses in North Yorkshire. He was an avid collector of art, antiquities, natural curiosities, and books. £650.00