Prodromus Coptus sive Aegyptiacus […] in quo cum linguae Coptae, sive Aegyptiacae, quondam Pharaonicae, origo, aetas, vicissitudo, inclinatio, tum hieroglyphicae literaturae instauratio […].

4to: [24]-338-[2] pp. (pp. 113-120 bound in wrong order; toned).

18th-c. gilt half calf, marbled paper on covers, richly gilt spine with raised bands and morocco label, marbled edges (rubbed, head def.).

Only edition of an early treatise on hieroglyphs and Coptic by the Jesuit universal scholar Kircher (1602-1680). Kircher believed that Coptic was a vestige of the ancient Egyptian language, recorded in hieroglyphs. He sought to connect Coptic with many different languages - Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Samaritan and Syriac. The work also contains the first ever published grammar of the Coptic language. It inspired Champollion in his quest to deciphering the hieroglyphs.
Ref. DBS IV:1047:3.
Prov. Oval central part of front cover (= arms?) covered with marbled paper. - Old ms. entries on title (partly deleted). - Old shelf-mark. - Libr. stamp on verso of title (deleted).