146 - LANGE (Kurt) — HIRMER (Max). Egypt: Sculpture, Architecture, Painting.

LANGE (Kurt) — HIRMER (Max). Egypt: Sculpture, Architecture, Painting. Paris, Librairie Armand Colin, 1956. A substantial volume in large quarto format (approx. 31 × 24.5 cm), bound in the publisher’s blue cloth, with a color-illustrated dust jacket. Translated from German by P. Gaudibert. The text is followed by an extensive collection of 259 photographs by Max Hirmer, in black-and-white and color. FIRST FRENCH EDITION. Published the same year as the original German edition, this imposing monograph is one of the major photographic works devoted to the art of ancient Egypt in the 1950s. A copy of this French edition is correctly described as “First Edition” and consists of 95 pages of text followed by 244 pages of plates. The book spans nearly three millennia of Egyptian art, examining architecture, sculpture, and painting together, from the early dynasties through the late periods. The particularly remarkable illustrations depict monuments, temples, statues, reliefs, and paintings, including notably the Crouching Scribe from the Louvre, Rahotep, the monuments of Karnak, and the major complexes of Luxor. The quality of Max Hirmer’s photographs, often reproduced full-page, is what makes this edition so compelling. The book includes 259 photographs, in addition to the documentary illustrations accompanying the text; bibliographically comparable copies are described in the 24.5 × 31 cm format. A very complete copy with its original illustrated dust jacket. The interior is fresh and well-preserved. The dust jacket is worn, with scuffing, small tears, and edge losses, particularly at the top and bottom edges and the corners; the binding and book block are in good condition.