CHAMPOLLION, Jean-François. Lettres écrites d'Égypte et de Nubie, en 1828 et 1829. Collection complète, accompagnée de trois mémoires inédits et de planches. XV-472 pp., 7 plates. (n° II et II bis on one leaf) of which 2 are folding. 8vo., 205 x 105 mm, bound in contemporary three-quarter red morocco over marbled boards. Spine gilt with a coat of arms. Paris: Firmin Didot Frères, 1833.
$3500.00

First Edition. A fine, handsome copy of this valuable collection of Champollion's letters from his only visit to Egypt in 1828 and 1829, and which was published shortly after his death in 1832. Known as the Franco-Tuscan Expedition, Champollion embarked on a journey to the land of the Nile along with his friend and Italian Egyptologist, Ippolito Rosellini (1800-1843), to apply their newfound knowledge of hieroglyphics to trace a geographical history of Ancient Egypt.

Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832) is celebrated for his ground-breaking discoveries which were based upon his correct interpretation of the tri-lingual inscriptions on the Rossetta Stone. In 1822 he had presented his important Lettre à M. Dacier in which he corrected and greatly enlarged the list of phonetic hieroglyphs drawn up by Thomas Young and correctly deciphered the hieroglyphic forms of the names and titles of most of the Roman emperors of Egypt.

Prince Ibrahim-Hilmy I, 128.