A history of Egyptian mummies. Color plates by Geo. Cruikshank. Inscribed to H. H. Riley
Publisher Information: London: Longman, 1834.
Pettigrew, Thomas Joseph (1791-1865). A history of Egyptian mummies, and an account of the worship and embalming of the sacred animals of the Egyptians; with remarks on the funeral ceremonies of different nations. 4to. xxi [1], 264 [2, incl. errata]pp. 13 engraved plates (4 hand-colored), mostly after drawings by George Cruikshank (1792-1878). London: Longman, 1834. 297 x 230 mm. Original boards, cloth backstrip restored, printed paper label on front cover. Minor foxing & staining, mostly confined to the plates. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title: "To H. T. Riley Esq. with the Author's kind regards. T. J. Pettigrew Oct. 17, 1864." Very good copy.
First Edition. "One of the most valuable works on the subject extant. It is a monument of exact observation, and considering the state of archaeological knowledge at the time, it is in every way admirable" (Dawson, Bibliography of Works Relating to Mummification in Egypt [1929], 97). Surgeon and medical writer as well as antiquary (he vaccinated Queen Victoria), Pettigrew was one of the founding members of the British Archaeological Society, whose early meetings were held in his house. Illustrated mostly from drawings by the famous artist / caricaturist George Cruikshank, best known as the illustrator of Dickens' novels. See Garrison-Morton 6711, Pettigrew's 4-vol. collection of medical biographies. Book Id: 30345
Price: $1,750.00