Author Description

Excerpt from Catalogue of a Collection of Egyptian Antiquities: The Property of Henry Abbott, M. D., Now Exhibiting at the Stuyvesant Institute, No; 659 Broadway, New York Upon exhibiting this Collection, it may be necessary to state that I do not profess to be a savan, or a decipherer of hieroglyphics, but merely an amateur collector of such objects of antiquity as appeared to me illustrative of the religious and other customs of the ancient Egyptians, in whose country I have passed the last twenty years of my life. To occupy my leisure hours was necessary, and I found it ah agreeable pastime to dive into the tombs of the ancients and rescue from the hands of the many pilferers such objects as appeared to me worthy of notice, and I think I may, without fear of contradiction, assert that every article in this collection is of undoubted antiquity. I have spared neither time nor expense in my efforts to obtain the finest and most genuine objects of antiquity, and feel assured that they will be appreciated. As regards the Catalogue, I have endeavoured, as far as the limits of such a work will allow, to give a sufficient, although not a very enlarged, description of each article, and for more minute details must refer to the works of such savans as Sir Gardner Wilkinson, S. Poole, Esq., I. Perring, Esq., J. Kenrick, Esq., Professor Lepsius, and M. E. Prisse, from all of which I have quoted when necessary. Subjoined is an Introduction by a gentleman of this city, who has visited Egypt, and who is himself an author of great merit. He has rendered it useless for me to say more than that I am indebted to him and many other American travellers for the praise they have kindly bestowed upon my exertions, and without whose advice I should never have ventured to offer this Collection of Egyptian Antiquities to the patronage of the American public. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Fin