CARTER, Howard; BURTON, Harry.
A Large Collection of Lantern Slides Depicting the Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb.
[London, 1924].
Regular price
£13,500.00
Sale price
£13,500.00
Regular price
A rare collection of fifty original lantern slides used by Howard Carter during one of his lecture tours following his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.
The fifty slides show Harry Burton's (1879-1940) original photographs of the discovery of the tomb and the artefacts within. Today, in the context of modern archaeology, Burton's photographs are considered a vital record of one of the most important Egyptology discoveries of the twentieth century. Burton's photographs are, in fact, the only scientific record of the dig alongside Carter's three-volume narrative.
Howard Carter (1874-1939), having made the discovery of a lifetime, embarked on lecture tours of Britain, France, Spain, and the United States on his return home in 1924 and for the next decade or so. Only the first volume of his work had by that point been published, making many of the images completely new to the audiences who attended, hungry for more visions of ancient Egypt. Carter was of course trying to increase sales of his book, but he was also trying to drum up further interest in privately funded expeditions: several slides show the Great Sphinx of Giza and hypothetical approaches to excavating under, or in, the monument. Others show Carter opening the Tomb, or mid-excavation, but the most impressive are the ones dedicated to the spectacular finds, including the full sarcophagus and masks of King Tutankhamun himself. So captivating were Carter's lectures that he is today credited with starting American Egyptomania or 'Tutmania'. President Coolidge himself requested a private lecture in order to see these images.
We also know these slides were actually used in Carter's lectures because a pictorial account of the lecture he gave in Madrid in May 1928 was published, and shows one of the present slides (slide 21). We can find no record of any institutional copies outside of Carter's original archive in the Griffith Institute at the University of Oxford. Rare.
50 lantern slides in a period pine wood box, each numbered, in fine condition.
The fifty slides show Harry Burton's (1879-1940) original photographs of the discovery of the tomb and the artefacts within. Today, in the context of modern archaeology, Burton's photographs are considered a vital record of one of the most important Egyptology discoveries of the twentieth century. Burton's photographs are, in fact, the only scientific record of the dig alongside Carter's three-volume narrative.
Howard Carter (1874-1939), having made the discovery of a lifetime, embarked on lecture tours of Britain, France, Spain, and the United States on his return home in 1924 and for the next decade or so. Only the first volume of his work had by that point been published, making many of the images completely new to the audiences who attended, hungry for more visions of ancient Egypt. Carter was of course trying to increase sales of his book, but he was also trying to drum up further interest in privately funded expeditions: several slides show the Great Sphinx of Giza and hypothetical approaches to excavating under, or in, the monument. Others show Carter opening the Tomb, or mid-excavation, but the most impressive are the ones dedicated to the spectacular finds, including the full sarcophagus and masks of King Tutankhamun himself. So captivating were Carter's lectures that he is today credited with starting American Egyptomania or 'Tutmania'. President Coolidge himself requested a private lecture in order to see these images.
We also know these slides were actually used in Carter's lectures because a pictorial account of the lecture he gave in Madrid in May 1928 was published, and shows one of the present slides (slide 21). We can find no record of any institutional copies outside of Carter's original archive in the Griffith Institute at the University of Oxford. Rare.
50 lantern slides in a period pine wood box, each numbered, in fine condition.
Stock code 113234
DELIVERY & RETURNS
We accept returns within 30 days of purchase. Please note that all items must be returned in their original condition, including all tags and packaging. Shipping costs are non-refundable.
A Large Collection of Lantern Slides Depicting the Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb.
Regular price
£13,500.00
Sale price
£13,500.00
Regular price
