Volumes of the "Description de l'Egypte" edition

21 manuscript volumes come from Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian Campaign. This military operation, which took place from 1798 to 1801, was designed to block the British advance towards India. It was accompanied by a scientific expedition involving some 160 scientists (botanists, historians, antiquarians, archaeologists, engravers, etc.) whose first objective was to help with military logistics (tracing roads, for example). This very quickly led to a meticulous study of Egypt in several fields: history and antiquity first of all, but also the study of flora and fauna, as well as a very detailed description of Egyptian towns and villages.

The military campaign was a failure, but the scientific expedition, which relied on the creation of the Institut d'Egypte in the vicinity of Cairo, resulted in the work "Description de l'Egypte" from 1809. This work was written in the spirit of the Enlightenment Encyclopedia, and also drew on the travel accounts of scholars who had preceded the expedition.

To carry out the work, a Commission d'Egypte was created in 1802. Jomard mainly coordinated the work between the authors and the Commission, which received contributions twice a month for validation. The scope of the project was such that great efforts were made to give the publication an impression of quality, as evidenced by the quality of the plates.
The Description de l'Egypte comprises two editions. The first, the imperial edition ordered by Napoleon, was produced between 1809 and 1822. Inalco holds one of the 1,000 copies of this edition.

Another edition, named Panckoucke after the printer, was begun in 1820 under the July Monarchy. This one includes more volumes due to their format.

The first edition consists of 23 volumes, alternating illustrated plates and related texts. Inalco retains 21 volumes.