[DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE] PANCKOUCKE (Charles-Louis-Fleury). Description de l'Egypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. Second edition. Dedicated to the King. Paris, printed by C. L. F. Panckoucke, 1820-1829.
24 volumes in 26 vol. in-8 paperback, and 11 parts bound in 10 volumes large in-folio (71 x 54 cm.) green half calf, smooth spines (defects to bindings and interiors, condition report on request).
Second edition, known as the Panckoucke edition, of the Description de l'Egypte published by Charles-Louis-Fleury Panckoucke under the direction of Edme-François Jomard between 1821 and 1829 in a smaller (text) and uniform format (volumes of plates). It comprises 24 volumes of text published in 26 volumes, including volume 18 in 3 parts, with 86 plates on 80 folding leaves, including 3 maps. Volumes 1 to 9 are dedicated to descriptions and memoirs of Egyptian antiquity, while volume 10 contains explanations of the plates in the antiquity section. Volumes 11 to 18 describe the modern state of Egypt, and volumes 19 to 24 detail the natural history of the region.
The text volumes are accompanied by 11 volumes of plates featuring a total of 908 copper-engraved illustrations and maps.
Antiquités - 5 volumes illustrated with 438 plates (including the portrait of Louis XVIII and the table Tableau synoptique des constellations semblables dans les différents planisphères, generally bound with the text volume Antiquités Mémoires 8).
Etat Moderne - 2 illustrated volumes with 173 plates
Histoire Naturelle - 2 volumes illustrated with 244 plates.
Geographical Atlas - 1 volume illustrated with 53 maps and plates, including double-page engraved title.
This monumental publishing venture was the fruit of collaboration between scientists, artists and technicians who followed Bonaparte to Egypt (1798-1801).
Bonaparte's military expedition to Egypt was accompanied by a scientific expedition to study the country. A science and arts commission was set up, bringing together scientists and experts from a variety of fields, including painters, naturalists, mathematicians, astronomers, geographers, architects, sculptors, writers and printers, among them Jacques Barraband, Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Jules-César Savigny, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Vivant Denon, Conté and Méchain.
Two months after their arrival in Egypt, Bonaparte founded the Institut d'Egypte to record the work of scholars in various fields, including antiquity, architecture and language. Despite the obstacles, the expedition brought back an impressive quantity of unpublished documents, culminating in the publication, from 1809, of the "Description de l'Egypte". This monumental work is divided into four sections dealing with ancient and modern Egypt, natural history and geography. A second edition, known as the Panckoucke edition, appeared between 1821 and 1829 in a smaller (text) and uniform format (volumes of plates).
The Description de l'Egypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française played an essential role in the dissemination and preservation of the Egyptian heritage. Even today, it remains a major reference for the study of ancient Egypt, its history, culture and architectural heritage.
(Atabey, 343 (1st ed.); Brunet, II, 617).
Estim. 12,000 - 15,000 EUR