379. Kircher (Athanasius) Oedipus Aegyptiacus, 3 vol., first edition , 12 folding or double page plates or maps, most with tears, map of Egypt extensively torn, no loss to any plates or maps, vol.2 stained, some marginal worming, occasionally affecting a few letters of sidenotes, contemporary vellum, vol.2 spine worn, vol.3 joints split, soiled, [Caillet 5788], folio, Rome, Vitalis Mascardi, 1652-54.
est. £3000 – £4000
Kircher claimed that his sources for the work were Chaldean astrology, Hebrew kabbalah, Greek myth, Pythagorean mathematics, Arabian alchemy and Latin philology. He was perhaps the greatest scholar of Ancient Egypt of his day, but many of his theories have long since been disproved.