Charles Diehl - First Edition, Αρχαιολογικαί Εκδρομαί εν Ελλάδι – Original Illustrated Serepetsis Binding - 1896

A beautiful 1896 first edition of Charles Diehl's archaeological guide to Greece, published in Athens in the historic year of the first modern Olympic Games.

This is the first Greek edition of Charles Diehl's Αρχαιολογικαί Εκδρομαί εν Ελλάδι (Archaeological Excursions in Greece), translated from the French by Alexandros M. Karalis and published in Athens by M. I. Saliveros in 1896.

The edition is recorded in the Greek Digital Bibliography of the University of Crete as an Athens publication of 1896, comprising 446 pages plus plates/illustrations and drawings, with chapters devoted to major archaeological sites throughout Greece.

Charles Diehl

Charles Diehl (1859–1944) was one of the leading French historians and scholars of the Byzantine world. His interest in Greece extended to its ancient monuments and archaeological discoveries.

The original French work, Excursions archéologiques en Grèce, was described in the Greek edition's introductory material as an important and accessible account of the archaeological excavations then transforming the understanding of ancient Greece. The work had also received recognition from the French Academy.

The Greek edition contains accounts of:

Mycenae
Tiryns
Dodona
The Acropolis of Athens
Delos
The Sanctuary of Apollo Ptoios
Olympia
Eleusis
Epidaurus
Tanagra

It is illustrated with drawings and archaeological plans, making it both a scholarly and highly attractive record of Greece at the end of the nineteenth century.

The 1896 Olympic connection

The publication date gives this copy a particularly attractive historical context.

It was printed in Athens in 1896, the year in which Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games.

The book therefore belongs to a fascinating moment in Greek history when Athens was simultaneously presenting itself to the international world as the modern capital of Greece and as the inheritor of the ancient Greek past.

Its chapters on Olympia, Athens, Mycenae, Epidaurus and the other great archaeological centres of Greece make the association with this extraordinary year particularly evocative.

Original Serepetsis binding

A major attraction of this particular copy is its original illustrated publisher's cloth binding, attributed to the Serepetsis bindery (Βιβλιοδεσία Σερεπετση).

The front cover features an attractive period design with gilt lettering and an architectural illustration of classical Greek columns, giving the volume a distinctly late-nineteenth-century appearance.

The survival of the original decorative binding considerably enhances the visual appeal of the book and makes it particularly suitable for collectors of Greek antiquarian books, classical archaeology and nineteenth-century travel literature.

Bibliographical details

Author: Charles Diehl
Greek title: Αρχαιολογικαί Εκδρομαί εν Ελλάδι
Original author: Charles Diehl
Translator: Alexandros M. Karalis
Publisher: M. I. Saliveros
Place: Athens
Year: 1896
Edition: First Greek edition
Language: Greek / Katharevousa
Format: 18.5 cm x 13 cm
Extent: 446 pages + additional leaves/illustrations
Illustrations: Archaeological drawings and plans
Binding: Original illustrated cloth publisher's binding, attributed to Serepetsis


Condition

A very attractive original copy with the original illustrated cloth binding preserved.

The binding shows the expected light rubbing and shelf wear associated with a book of approximately 130 years of age, particularly around the edges and spine.

Internally, the pages display natural age-toning and occasional light foxing, but remain clean, tightly bound and fully legible.

The original decorative character of the binding remains particularly appealing.

Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the description.

Why this copy is special

The appeal of this volume lies in the combination of:

• 1896 first Greek edition

• Charles Diehl, a major French Byzantine and classical scholar

• Contemporary Greek translation by Alexandros M. Karalis

• Published in Athens in the year of the first modern Olympic Games

• Accounts of Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens, Olympia, Delos, Eleusis, Epidaurus and other major archaeological sites

• Numerous archaeological drawings and plans

• Original illustrated Serepetsis publisher's binding

An excellent historical and decorative example of turn-of-the-century Greek antiquarian publishing, particularly appealing to collectors interested in classical archaeology, Greece, the history of travel and the cultural revival surrounding Athens in 1896.