Irak

pp. xxiii, 360 + Frontis. Numerous woodcuts and folding plans. Margin loss in Index. XLib. 12mo. Original full publisher's brown cloth, boards decorated in blind with designs of flowers and publisher's device. Extremities worn and slightly chipped. Remains of library numbers on spine. Hardbound. Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817-1894) was one of the leading British archaeologists of the nineteenth century. He was not a professional archeologist, and he wore many hats in his public career - diplomat, politician, art connoisseur, and a man of letters. He entered the London legal profession in 1836 under the sponsorship of his wealthy uncle, Benjamin Austen. He remained there until 1839 when he set off, with his traveling companion Edward Mitford, on his first expedition to Nineveh and the region of Mesopotamia at Mosul. Over the next decade the British Museum unloaded hundreds of tons of sculpture and artifacts from Layard's excavations. His books won acclaim for their mix of high adventure and archeology embroiled in an intoxicating stew of compelling characters and sudden crises. He made the Assyrians accessible to common people and brought alive a shadowy Biblical civilization. HOLY LAND BOX 1