IRBY (Hon. Charles Leonard) &
MANGLES (James).
Travels in Egypt and Nubia, Syria and Asia Minor; During the Years 1817 & 1818.
PRESENTATION COPY
IRBY (Hon. Charles Leonard) &
MANGLES (James).
Travels in Egypt and Nubia, Syria and Asia Minor; During the Years 1817 & 1818.
With the author’s inscription, dated 1828, to upper pastedown.
Blackmer 860: “First edition, privately printed. The first trade edition did not appear until 1844 though the book seems to have been fairly widely known and sought after long before its trade appearance. The text consists of six long letters, the first dated from Cairo in 1817, the last from Cyprus in 1818. These travels are of particular importance. Irby and Mangles left England in 1816 with the intention of touring the Continent, but their journey extended far beyond their original plans. They toured the Levant in 1817-18, and when they reached Egypt they helped Belzoni excavate the site of Abu Simbel. Irby and Mangles give an independent account of the excavation in their letters. In addition they were among the earliest Europeans to visit Petra. They were accompanied on this part of their journey by Thomas Legh. Burckhardt had preceded them, but he was unable to make notes or sketches. The plan of Petra appended to letter 5 may be the first ever published.”
Ibrahim-Hilmy I, p. 325.
