Benoît de Maillet

Description de l’Égypte, 1735

Paris: Paris: Louis Genneau & Jacques Rollin, 1735. First Edition. Illustrated. Rebound in half calf over marbled boards.
Quarto [10.25 x 8.5 inches]
XXI, [3], 328pp., 242pp., [10]
[French] Condition: Very Good. Early French Egyptology: Maillet’s Description de l’Égypte
[First Edition] Plates and Map present, Frontispiece Lacking

Benoît de Maillet
Description de l’Égypte, 1735 (first edition)

Publisher: Paris: Louis Genneau & Jacques Rollin, 1735
Quarto [10.25 x 8.5 inches]
XXI, [3], 328pp., 242pp., [10]
[French] Condition: Very Good

Illustrated throughout. Maillet’s landmark survey of Egypt compiled from letters written while he served as French consul at Cairo from 1692 to 1708, edited for the press by Jean-Baptiste Le Mascrier. Covers ancient and modern geography, antiquities, architecture, natural history, and the customs of the inhabitants. Includes Maillet’s descriptions of the pyramids and the Nilometer, and a concluding section on the Hajj with notices of Mecca and Medina. Title page printed in red and black. Illustrated with seven engraved plates, two of them folding, and one engraved folding map of Egypt.

Modern rebind of dark brown half calf over marbled boards; five raised bands; gilt title to red morocco spine label; new endpapers. 8 illustrated plates, 3 are folding.

It is in Very Good condition, with the engraved portrait frontispiece lacking. Minor foxing throughout, heavier between pp. 321 to 328 of the first book and pp. 21 to 24 of the second book. A minor damp stain affects the upper quarter of most leaves, worst near the end; none of it touches the text. The modern binding shows no real flaws. Very Good. Item #35

Price: $1,300.00