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Black & white illustration of the Pyramids of Giza and The Sphinx

Venturing Out

Description de L’Egypte

Edmé-François Jomard

1821


'Description of Egypt' was published soon after Napoleon’s great scientific and military expedition to Egypt in 1798 and was instrumental in directing the attention of Europe to ancient Egypt, which led to the modern study of Egyptology.

The first edition was published by Imprimerie de CLF Panckoucke over a period of twenty years, reproducing the work of the 175 scholars, scientists, artists and technicians who accompanied Napoleon’s army on the expedition.

Jomard, a member of the expedition, edited the massive work that consists of 900 plates bound in 11 volumes, nine volumes of text and three volumes of grand format.

These latter volumes are the largest in the State Library of Victoria’s collection. The Library's edition was published in Paris in 1828 and is drawn from the second edition.