CHAMPOLLION-FIGEAC (Jacques-Joseph). - Lot 109

CHAMPOLLION-FIGEAC (Jacques-Joseph). Egyptian demotic writing. Letter from Mr. Champollion-Figeac to Mr. Ch. Lenormant (February 7, 1843). Paris, Lithographie de Clouet, s.d. (1843). Large in-4, (1)-14 pp. sewn (some minor wear and pitting, but a good copy). Text entirely autographed. Very rare printing. On the difficulties raised by Félicien de Saulcy in interpreting the Rosetta Stone. Here, as on other occasions, Jacques-Joseph Champollion is a vigilant defender of the memory and work of his famous younger brother. It was the text of an obelisk from Philae in 1821 that enabled Champollion to discover by correspondence hieratic, hieroglyphic and demotic signs, the transcription of ancient Egyptian writing. From 1820 to 1827, the elder Champollion was particularly involved in ancient Egyptian chronology, as his disgrace following his rallying to the Cent-Jours did not prevent him from keeping in touch with busy scholars of antiquity in France. Absent from Hage Chahine.