Die herkulanesnsischen Handschriften in England
Publisher Information: Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1819.
Sickler, Friedrich (1773-1836). Die herculanensischen Handschriften in England und meine, nach erhaltenem Ruf und nach Auftrag der englischen Regierung, im Jahre 1817 zu ihrer Entwickelung gemachten. iv, 115, [1]pp. Folding plate. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1819. 203 x 116 mm. 19th-century half cloth, marbled boards, remains of paper label on spine, light edgewear. Minor foxing but a very good, crisp copy.
First Edition. In 1816 the King of the Two Sicilies presented twelve heavily charred papyrus scrolls found at Herculaneum to the Prince Regent, George IV. Sickler, a German archeologist, had devised a new method for unrolling the fragile scrolls, and the British government brought him to England and paid to carry out the project. Unfortunately, it appears that Sickler’s method consisted of soaking the scrolls in water until they were malleable and unrolling them from there. This method washed away any remnants of ink on the papyrus or caused the layers of the papyrus to crumble, rendering them useless for scholars. Sickler inadvertently destroyed seven of the twelve scrolls, and a Parliamentary committee was established to investigate Sickler’s methods. Parliament ended up removing Sickler from the project.
After suffering public embarrassment for his failed attempt to unroll the Herculaneum papyrus rolls, Sickler published this work defending his methods and results. The large folding plate includes some of the best early illustrations of the external appearance of the papyrus rolls when they were found.
Book Id: 44529Price: $1,500.00