Essay on Dr. Young's and M. Champollion's Phonetic System of Hieroglyphics

First edition, with seven folding plates engraved by Hallmandel after G. Schärf.
Beige full calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed in gilt, gilt lettered morocco title label lengthwise, stamped arms of the Society of Writers to the Signet in the center of the boards. Restored spine and corners, brittle spine ends, spalls and stains to boards.

A very rare and important publication by the British Consul General in Egypt in 1815, Henry Salt (1780-1827),involved in the excavation of several historical sites and the collection of numerous antiquities. The most remarkable of these is the colossal bust of Ramses II found at Thebes and housed in the British Museum, which is said to have inspired Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias". Salt carefully reproduces and explains various inscriptions, bearing the cartouches of Egyptian gods and pharaohs. He made valuable contributions to the understanding of hieroglyphics, following Thomas Young's work on the Rosetta Stone and Jean-François Champollion's groundbreaking discoveries presented in 1822. Historiography even proved that he successfully translated some Egyptian names independently of Champollion's work.

Provenance: bindings with the arms of the Society of Writers to the Signet, Scottish sollicitors association founded in the late 16th century. Library shelf label glued to the flyleaf.