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There is no "original manuscript" for the Description de lEgypte
(1810-1829). And if there were, it would certainly be in Paris, not
Cairo. The original plates for the printing of visual materials in
the Description, on the other hand, including the maps, are preserved
by the Louvre and new impressions on excellent modern paper may be
purchased directly from the museum's Calcographie department.
John Rodenbeck
Professor Emeritus and former director
of the AUC Press
American University in Cairo
On 18 Dec 2011, at 20:35, hills...@aol.com wrote:
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Which sad event reinforces the need, urgent need, to digitise as
many old maps as possible ASAP, before war, climate disasters,
fires, quakes, decay, etc destroy more. Such a project, surely
feasible if the likes of Google Streetview can find enough digital
space to store images of every street in Europe and the US, would
have many advantages, including
1) Prreservation, with back up, forever
2) accessibility, researchers could often use the digital copies
which can be sent anywhere for free, zero risk to the original
3) Less physical handling or light exposure of old maps, as we'd be
using the digital image.
The main disadvantage I can see is owners fearing devaluation of
their asset. But then, is the original Mona Lisa any less valuable
because squillions of copies of it exist w/wide? We could pay map
owners for allowing digitial copies to be made, then mad eavailable
perhaos for a further per-view payment to the owner, hopefully low
or zero payment. Any Bill Gates's out there with the philanthropy
to set up such a zillion-terabyte digital map archive?
Dr Hillary Shaw
School of Business, Management and Marketing
Harper Adams University College
Newport
Shropshire
TF10 8NB
-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Campbell <t.campb...@ockendon.clara.co.uk>
To: *MapHist <maphist@geo.uu.nl>
Sent: Sun, 18 Dec 2011 10:43
Subject: [MapHist] Cairo library burnt
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With people once more dying in Cairo, there are major human concerns.
However, of relevance to this list are the following extracts from
a CNN report:
213-year-old [i.e. 1798] Egyptian maps and historical manuscripts
-- described as "irreplaceable" -- were destroyed after a library
in Cairo was set ablaze during the clashes, officials said ...
Egypt's Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri, appointed by the military
earlier this month, condemned the library attack, which he called
an "arson committed by the protesters who portrayed no patriotism
in protecting the symbols of the historical civilization of this
nation." The 200,000-book library is called the Scientific Center.
Destroyed in the fire were the original manuscript of the
"description of Egypt" and "irreplaceable maps and historical
manuscripts preserved by many generations since the building of the
Scientific Center in August 1798 during the French Campaign,"
Ganzouri said in a statement.
Egypt lost a piece of "its national treasure" and "its rare
history," the prime minister said.
The library was a scene of intense confrontation Saturday.
A dozen men dressed in military uniform were positioned on the
library roof and threw cement blocks and rocks on the protesters
and sprayed them with water hoses to push them away from the building.
But protesters hurled back rocks as well as Molotov cocktails. Then
a massive explosion erupted, apparently originating from inside the
building, and black smoke billowed.
Firefighters were busy putting out another fire in a nearby building.
Protesters were bleeding from rocks thrown at them.
At least one demonstrator was unaware that the structure was a
library containing historical documents.
"We had no idea it was a library. We love our country. Why were the
military thugs on the rooftop of the building in the first place,
throwing debris and rocks at us? They destroyed it, not us, and now
they will use it to turn public opinion against us and label us
thugs," said Ahmed Ali, a student and activist involved in the
clashes.
"Since when are buildings or manuscripts more important than the
lives of humans?" he added.
Tahrir Supplies, a group that provides medical care to Egyptians
injured in Tahrir Square clashes, publicly asked protesters to
return any books or maps taken from the library and deposit them at
a nearby church. But such a book return appeared daunting Saturday
as the neighborhood was embroiled in clashes.
Tony Campbell
i...@tonycampbell.info
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MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography
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The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of
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Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility
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the views of the author.
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_______________________________________________
MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography
hosted by the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht.
The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of
the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of
Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for
the views of the author.
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