Travels And Discoveries In The Levant Newton, C[Harles] T[Homas] Turkey, The Caucasus And Middle East

First edition. Very good condition overall. Covers with slight bumping to spine ends and with cloth split about 1 inch on the rear hinge of each volume. Mild toning internally. Two large octavo volumes (10¼ by 6 inches). Original green blind stamped cloth, spines lettered in gilt. Volume 1 with xiv plus 360 pages; volume 2 with xiv plus 275 pages. A total of 41 plates and maps, including a folding map in each volume, a frontis in each volume, and several double page engraved plates. Complete. Newton, a British archaeologist, became Vice-Consul at Mitylene, off the coast of modern Turkey, in 1852. Supported by Lord Stratford, the British Ambassador in Constantinople, he led expeditions in Asia Minor. In 1856, Newton discovered and excavated the remains of the mausoleum of Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum in Turkey). Built for King Mausolas by his queen, this was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Newton became Keeper of the Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum in 1861, subsequently publishing A History of Discoveries at Halicarnassus, Cnidus and Branchidae in 1862 and this summary account of his expeditions in 1865. The maps in this set show the Isle of Rhodes and the Coast of Caria, and many of the plates are from drawings made by Newton's wife of statues, friezes and other carvings in stone at the site of the mausoleum of Halicarnassus. References: Atabey 869 and Blackmer 1193.