[Travel & Exploration] Norden, Frederic Louis Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie

Norden, Frederic Louis
Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie
Copenhague: L'Imprimerie de la Maison Royale des Orphelins, 1755. In two volumes. First edition (one of only 200 copies printed). Folio, 17 7/8 x 12 in. (454 x 305 mm). (lx), 104; (vi), 108-288 pp. Illustrated with an engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved frontispiece portrait of Norden, 159 engraved and numbered plates (including six folding plates and one double-page plate), 15 engraved head- and tail-pieces, and seven engraved historiated initials. Full contemporary mottled and paneled brown calf, brown and black morocco spine labels, boards elaborately stamped in gilt, light wear along extremities, chipping along spines; all edges gilt; marbled endpapers; lengthy inscriptions in Danish on verso of front free endpaper in first volume, ca. early 19th century; caption on Plate LXXXVI cancel, as usual; some expertly repaired closed tears in folding plates; scattered mostly minor spotting to text and plates; each volume in brown cloth fall-down-back box. Brunet IV: 101; Gay 2169; Blackmer 1211 (first English edition)

A fine and rare first edition of the earliest systematic description of Egypt and its antiquities by a European. Frederic Louis Norden (1708-42), a Danish naval captain, cartographer, and explorer, traveled through Egypt at the behest of King Kristian VI of Denmark from 1737-38. Accompanied by artist Marcus Tuscher, he made extensive surveys of the country's geography, agriculture, and architecture, and produced the first coherent maps of the country. He was also the first European to penetrate as far as el-Derr in Nubia.

This first edition was published by the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 13 years following Norden's death from tuberculosis, and features highly detailed engravings of Egyptian ruins, monuments, temples, views, and maps. At the time of its publication it was the most comprehensive description of Egypt available in Europe, and helped spur the scholarly and archaeological interest in ancient Egyptian art and antiquities.

A stunning set in contemporary bindings.