Egypt. DENON. Viaggio nel basso ed alto Egitto.

2 voll. In folio, mm. 580x400, contemporary quarter vellum and marbled cardboard with gilt title on label on spine. Vol I: Pp. XI, (1), 214, 1 blank, with detailed explanations of plates. Vol. II: 151 wonderful engraved plates (with a lot of illustrations), mostly in aquatint and in full or double pages. Handwritten note on initial endpaper. Nice uncut specimen with wide margins with slight redness and traces of wear on binding.

First Italian edition of this celebrated account of the journey taken by the author, Baron Dominique Vivant Denon (1747-1823), a French politician and engraver, accompanied Bonaparte to Egypt where he did the illustrations for this great work. (The first, from Paris, in 1802 is illustrated by 143 plates.) The plates are the result of work executed by a team of Italian artists such as: Angelo Volpini, Francesco Inghirami, Giovanni Battista Cecchi, Giovanni Pacini, Giuseppe Pera and Luigi Sabatelli, based on original drawings and sketches by Denon himself. The plates depict views, plans, portraits, maps, floor plans, archaeological details, and folk costumes.

Dawson "Who was who in Egyptology", pag. 83: "He not only visited the Delta but travelled throughout Upper Egypt making a great collection of drawings and antiquities; he carried out his task of recording the Egyptian monuments very well, and also wrote an account of his journey. The "Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte" was issued in 1802 in 2 large fol. vols. and had a profound effect on European scholarship, running to several editions and being translated into English, German and Italian; Brunet II, 599 "ouvrage intéressant et d'une exécution soignée; il contient quelques notes et des augmentations qui sont dues à l'Abbé Fontana, alors bibliothécaire de la Ricardiana"; Graesse II, 362: "ouvrage magnifique".