The Providence Athenæum

In 1802, Napoleon ordered the Imperial Press to begin publication of the discoveries of his 1798 French expedition to Egypt. The resulting Description de l’Égypte paved the way for the birth of modern Egyptology.

The Athenæum’s rare first edition set was acquired in 1838, and had originally belonged to the French statesman and ultra-royalist Jules Armand, Prince de Polignac. After his exile for supporting the monarchy in the July Revolution of 1830, his effects were sold at auction in London, and the Description was purchased by friends of the Athenæum, particularly due to the encouragement of Athenæum founder and treasurer John Russell Bartlett.

At some point before the 1980s, 14 color plates depicting Egyptian bird species were cut and taken from the Athenæum’s copy of the Description. In 2018, three of these missing plates (not original to our set) were purchased from a dealer in Paris. Plate 3, attributed to naturalist J.C. Savigny who was responsible for the zoology sections of the Description, depicts a black kite and pharaoh eagle owl.

Lancaster, Jane. Inquire Within: A Social History of the Providence Athenæum Since 1753. Providence Athenæum, 2003, pp. XXIII, 64-68.

"Description de l’Egypte, …" The Providence Athenæum, 2019, www.providenceathenaeum.org/collections/special-collections/travel-exploration/. Accessed 20 June 2019.

Cook, Carol S. Travel and Exploration: A Catalogue of the Providence Athenæum Collection.  Providence Athenæum, 1988, p. 120.

Cook, Carol S. and Marguerite Dorian. The Natural History Collection of the Providence Athenæum: A Selected Annotated Bibliography.  Providence Athenæum, 1997, pp. 35-37.

France. Commission des Sciences et Arts d'Egypte. Description de l'Egypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition de l'armee française.  Paris, Impr. Impériale, 1809-1828.