Belzoni, Giovanni Battista. Plate 40. "Section of the Tomb of Psammathis in Thebes Discovered and Opened by G. Belzoni in 1818"

Giovanni Battista Belzoni. Plate 40.  “Section of the Tomb of Psammathis in Thebes Discovered and Opened by G. Belzoni in 1818.”  From Plates Illustrative of the Researches and Operations of G. Belzoni in Egypt and Nubia.  London: John Murray, 1822.  18 ¼ x 23 ½ (image).  Aquatint.  Full original hand color.  With one horizontal and one vertical fold as issued.  Light transference of image with some light staining.  Two repaired tears in margins.  Else, fine condition.  A print from a rare publication issued to accompany Giovanni Belzoni’s Narrative, a popular work that described his experiences and discoveries in Egypt and Nubia.  Belzoni, a nearly six foot, seven inch red-head, was a pantomime player and strongman, as well as a hydraulic engineer.  He traveled to Cairo in 1816 in order to interest Mohammed Ali in a hydraulic lifting device that he had invented.  This venture being unsuccessful, Belzoni turned to the British Consul, Henry Salt, for possible employment.  Salt, who wa