1816 1st Edition (London)
RUINS OF BABYLON
Observations Connected with Astronomy and Ancient History Sacred and Profane on the Ruins of Babylon
As Recently Visited and Described by Claudius James Rich, Esq.
A substantial and uncommon early nineteenth-century antiquarian study of Babylon, in which the Rev. Thomas Maurice uses the recent observations of Claudius James Rich to range across Biblical history, ancient astronomy, comparative religion, and the monumental traditions of the ancient world. Complete with engraved title-vignette and four engraved plates, including the supposed ruins of the Tower of Babel, Persepolitan characters, the Great Pagoda of Tanjore, and a Mexican temple to the Sun and Moon. A characterful, unsophisticated first edition in original boards, rebacked, and still very much the sort of copy collectors like: complete, untrimmed, and honest.
By The Rev. Thomas Maurice, A.M.
Author Bio: Thomas Maurice (1754–1824) was a British cleric, orientalist, and antiquarian scholar, best known for his Indian Antiquities and for his work at the British Museum, where he served as assistant keeper / assistant librarian in the manuscripts department. His writings belong to the great age of late-Georgian comparative antiquarianism, when Biblical chronology, classical learning, Asian studies, and early archaeology were often brought into a single speculative framework.
Synopsis: Work / historical context: Maurice’s Ruins of Babylon was published in response to the investigations of Claudius James Rich, the East India Company’s Resident at Baghdad, whose examination of the site of Babylon is now widely regarded as a foundational moment in the modern study of Mesopotamian antiquity. Maurice takes Rich’s observations as the starting point for a broader inquiry into astronomy, sacred and profane history, ancient empire, mythic memory, and the architectural symbolism of stepped or pyramidal temple forms. The result is a distinctly early nineteenth-century synthesis: scholarly, ambitious, and often speculative, but rich in historical curiosity and highly evocative of the period’s encounter with the ancient Near East.
Binding: Hardcover, quarto (4to 9 1⁄2 × 12 in 241 × 305 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Collation: [4], viii, 164, [5] pp. Complete: engraved title-vignette + 4 engraved plates + list of subscribers + advertisement leaf at end.
Language: English
Published By: Printed for the Author, and sold by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Good - Original boards, rebacked in pale cloth with printed paper spine label. Boards rubbed, marked, and edge-worn, with bumping to corners and visible wear to extremities; nevertheless an appealing and authentic survival in its original format rather than a later dressed-up binding. Textblock sound and complete. Pages remain untrimmed / roughly cut. Small closed tear to the front free endpaper; minor repair and old inscription to the leaf following the title; occasional foxing and edge discoloration, chiefly concentrated in one localized area as noted in the original seller’s description; a few pencil annotations. Plates all present and generally attractive. A solid, complete, and increasingly uncommon copy of this curious Babylonian antiquarian work.
With engraved title-vignette and 4 engraved plates; the Tanjore plate in this copy is signed “Barlow sculp.” and acknowledged as copied from the designs of William Hodges.
References:
NSTC 2M20921
WorldCat / OCLC 311710905.
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
SKU: BTETM0002692
1816 1st Edition (London)
RUINS OF BABYLON
Observations Connected with Astronomy and Ancient History Sacred and Profane on the Ruins of Babylon
As Recently Visited and Described by Claudius James Rich, Esq.
A substantial and uncommon early nineteenth-century antiquarian study of Babylon, in which the Rev. Thomas Maurice uses the recent observations of Claudius James Rich to range across Biblical history, ancient astronomy, comparative religion, and the monumental traditions of the ancient world. Complete with engraved title-vignette and four engraved plates, including the supposed ruins of the Tower of Babel, Persepolitan characters, the Great Pagoda of Tanjore, and a Mexican temple to the Sun and Moon. A characterful, unsophisticated first edition in original boards, rebacked, and still very much the sort of copy collectors like: complete, untrimmed, and honest.
By The Rev. Thomas Maurice, A.M.
Author Bio: Thomas Maurice (1754–1824) was a British cleric, orientalist, and antiquarian scholar, best known for his Indian Antiquities and for his work at the British Museum, where he served as assistant keeper / assistant librarian in the manuscripts department. His writings belong to the great age of late-Georgian comparative antiquarianism, when Biblical chronology, classical learning, Asian studies, and early archaeology were often brought into a single speculative framework.
Synopsis: Work / historical context: Maurice’s Ruins of Babylon was published in response to the investigations of Claudius James Rich, the East India Company’s Resident at Baghdad, whose examination of the site of Babylon is now widely regarded as a foundational moment in the modern study of Mesopotamian antiquity. Maurice takes Rich’s observations as the starting point for a broader inquiry into astronomy, sacred and profane history, ancient empire, mythic memory, and the architectural symbolism of stepped or pyramidal temple forms. The result is a distinctly early nineteenth-century synthesis: scholarly, ambitious, and often speculative, but rich in historical curiosity and highly evocative of the period’s encounter with the ancient Near East.
Binding: Hardcover, quarto (4to 9 1⁄2 × 12 in 241 × 305 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Collation: [4], viii, 164, [5] pp. Complete: engraved title-vignette + 4 engraved plates + list of subscribers + advertisement leaf at end.
Language: English
Published By: Printed for the Author, and sold by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Good - Original boards, rebacked in pale cloth with printed paper spine label. Boards rubbed, marked, and edge-worn, with bumping to corners and visible wear to extremities; nevertheless an appealing and authentic survival in its original format rather than a later dressed-up binding. Textblock sound and complete. Pages remain untrimmed / roughly cut. Small closed tear to the front free endpaper; minor repair and old inscription to the leaf following the title; occasional foxing and edge discoloration, chiefly concentrated in one localized area as noted in the original seller’s description; a few pencil annotations. Plates all present and generally attractive. A solid, complete, and increasingly uncommon copy of this curious Babylonian antiquarian work.
With engraved title-vignette and 4 engraved plates; the Tanjore plate in this copy is signed “Barlow sculp.” and acknowledged as copied from the designs of William Hodges.
References:
NSTC 2M20921
WorldCat / OCLC 311710905.
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
SKU: BTETM0002692
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