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This is the rating and price for Sketch Of A Hieroglyphical Dictionary, 1838



Description : Birch, Samuel. Sketch of a Hieroglyphical Dictionary... Part I. Hieroglyphics and English. Division I. Phonetical symbols, vowels. 4, 12 pp. 28.5x22.8 cm. (11¼x9), original printed wrappers. First Edition. London: William Allen & Co., 1838 Presentation copy inscribed on the front wrapper, To Charlotte Frances Gray/ with Samuel L. Birch's/ best regards and wishes for/ her welfare. Birch had been seeing Ms. Gray at the time the sketch was published, and presumably presented her with this copy, his first work on Egyptology, produced when he was 25 years old, and an assistant at the British Museum. His specialty was Chinese antiquities, and he was an accomplished linguist, but he became fascinated with the Egyptian hieroglyphic system postulated by Chompollion after his examination of the Rosetta Stone. He, along with his German counterpart Lepsius, was among the first scholars to defend the system, and he would go on to become the leading Egyptologist of his day. This groundbreaking work consists of the title-page, two-page preface, and a 12-page lithographic insert on slightly smaller paper showing the symbols and English translations. Though there was never a Part II per se of this work, he expanded upon it, and eventually completed a comprehensive hieroglyphic dictionary in 1857. OCLC/WorldCat lists only seven copies, and most of those show the insert as being only 8 pages. A rare and important association copy if a seminal text on Egyptology. Charlotte Frances Gray, the eventual Mrs. Birch, was the younger sister of J.E. Gray, a friend and colleague of Charles Darwin. Wrappers chipped, starting to split along spine, top corners of 1st 4 pages creased, else very good.
Price: 420.00 USD It's free to register now to view!
Estimate (low-high) : 700 USD-1000 USD It's free to register now to view!

About the lot N° 242
Title : Sketch Of A Hieroglyphical Dictionary, Period : 1838
Size : 28.5x22.8 cm
PBA Galleries Auctions & Appraisers, auctioneer, San Francisco, US It's free to register now to view!
Sale title : Fine Literature & Fine Books in All Fields
Sale date : 15 Mar 2012 It's free to register now to view!
Sale Reference : Live Sale

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