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Rating: 
Summary: a collector's book
Review: Landscape artist David Roberts has captured during his trip to Egypt in 1838 and 1839 some wonderful lithographs which rendered him famous. In this book are presented in chronological order 120 plates, accompanied by modern photographs by Antonio Attini, a short explanation and excerpts from Roberts' journal. The life of this lithographer is summarized, highlighting his most important achievements. A beautiful book for all to own.
Rating:
Summary: A gorgeous book and a handy reference
Review: This book gives great colour reproductions of each of David Roberts prints from his 1842 edition of "egypt and Nubia". Each print out of these collectors editons are produced in sequence, along with notes from his diary. The author of this book has also included notes on each temple/monument and it's history. Alongside David Roberts prints are modern colour photos showing the same site today.This is an illuminating book. It shows how much the egyptian monuments have changed in the last 150 years. Not always for the better. The island of philae is shown with it's monuments all brightly coloured with the orginal paint. Today they have been stripped bare back to the stone by the waters of the Aswan dam. Many of the monuments Roberts shows in here are partially covered by sand and it is interesting to see how different they look when they have been fully excavated, or in the case of the nubian monuments - quite literally picked up and moved. For anybody interested in ancient egypt, 19th century travel or lovely monumental art this book is a must. This is also the best place to see these prints for most people as the cost of the original prints these days is wildly expensive. You get the beauty without the cost...
Rating:
Summary: A gorgeous book and a handy reference
Review: This book gives great colour reproductions of each of David Roberts prints from his 1842 edition of "egypt and Nubia". Each print out of these collectors editons are produced in sequence, along with notes from his diary. The author of this book has also included notes on each temple/monument and it's history. Alongside David Roberts prints are modern colour photos showing the same site today. This is an illuminating book. It shows how much the egyptian monuments have changed in the last 150 years. Not always for the better. The island of philae is shown with it's monuments all brightly coloured with the orginal paint. Today they have been stripped bare back to the stone by the waters of the Aswan dam. Many of the monuments Roberts shows in here are partially covered by sand and it is interesting to see how different they look when they have been fully excavated, or in the case of the nubian monuments - quite literally picked up and moved. For anybody interested in ancient egypt, 19th century travel or lovely monumental art this book is a must. This is also the best place to see these prints for most people as the cost of the original prints these days is wildly expensive. You get the beauty without the cost...
Rating:
Summary: A Gem of Egypt
Review: This is a wonderful souvenir of Egypt, even if you haven't actually been there. I picked up this book in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo last week while on a trip there. Of course it is cheaper on Amazon, but the shipping would have killed me as I live out of the country now. The highlight, apart from the obvious beauty of the lithographs, is we can see what the temples were like just a couple hundred years ago. Startling features of the `then' drawings include how the temples were only partly excavated although flush with colorful painting still on the columns and glyphs. Roberts also included portraits of the Egyptian in the temples illustrating the costumes of the time and lending proper perspective to the grandiosity of the structures. After just having finished a 10-day tour of Egypt, I long to go back in time to see the temples the way Roberts had. The `now' pictures offer the contrasting full excavation, but also the diminished color and detail of their painting as they stand today. I bought this book on my last day in Cairo, holding off purchasing anything until I found THE thing and after surveying all of the other available books on Egypt, not just in the museum bookshop, but in all of the books shops I encountered. This is by far the most beautiful and memorable souvenir one could have. If you haven't been but have any interest in Egypt's beauty and mystery this book will suit you just as well as the seasoned traveler. What it lacks in factual information (not the book's focus) it makes up for by capturing the imagination of not only an ancient time gone by, but also a more recent past of true exploration no longer available to us in the global village.
Rating:
Summary: A Gem of Egypt
Review: This is a wonderful souvenir of Egypt, even if you haven't actually been there. I picked up this book in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo last week while on a trip there. Of course it is cheaper on Amazon, but the shipping would have killed me as I live out of the country now. The highlight, apart from the obvious beauty of the lithographs, is we can see what the temples were like just a couple hundred years ago. Startling features of the 'then' drawings include how the temples were only partly excavated although flush with colorful painting still on the columns and glyphs. Roberts also included portraits of the Egyptian in the temples illustrating the costumes of the time and lending proper perspective to the grandiosity of the structures. After just having finished a 10-day tour of Egypt, I long to go back in time to see the temples the way Roberts had. The 'now' pictures offer the contrasting full excavation, but also the diminished color and detail of their painting as they stand today. I bought this book on my last day in Cairo, holding off purchasing anything until I found THE thing and after surveying all of the other available books on Egypt, not just in the museum bookshop, but in all of the books shops I encountered. This is by far the most beautiful and memorable souvenir one could have. If you haven't been but have any interest in Egypt's beauty and mystery this book will suit you just as well as the seasoned traveler. What it lacks in factual information (not the book's focus) it makes up for by capturing the imagination of not only an ancient time gone by, but also a more recent past of true exploration no longer available to us in the global village.
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