The Gayer-Anderson Cat has been one of the most admired objects at the British Museum since its arrival in 1947. This book presents a detailed description of the cat and a discussion of its possible meaning and role in ancient times. Surprising new finds from scientific analyses are presented for the first time, shedding light on the cats somewhat traumatic modern history, from its acquisition by the British Army major and avid antiquities collector John Gayer-Anderson to its donation to the British Museum. The fascinating narrative is complemented by outstanding new photography.

Based on the personal journals of Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson (1881-1945), Egyptologist, poet, surgeon, soldier, psychic, and noted collector, this candid and charming historical biography tells of Gayer-Anderson's strange and eclectic life in the final days of the British empire. As a child, he crossed an unforgiving America with his entrepreneurial and eccentric Irish parents. As a man, he immersed himself in the Arab way of life as colonials seldom did; he saw ghosts and witches, sailed the Nile, wrestled Turks and crocodiles, fought at Gallipoli, smoked opium, performed surgery in the desert, gathered and cared for artefacts and boys in his Cairene home, survived an assassination attempt and, in the name of science and Henry Wellcome, in flowery glades he boiled the flesh from the skulls of Nuba warriors. His personal journals are filled with frank accounts of his exploits and of the illustrious and colorful people who wandered by: Lawrence of Arabia, Gordon, Kitchener, Conan-Doyle, Eric Gill, and Stephen Spender, among others. Drugs, race, class, family, sex, and selfhood are vividly mixed in this tale of two wars, colonial life, medicine, anthropology, and psychic phenomena. The stiff-upper-lipped ritual of a very British upbringing vied with his Romantic and consuming love of beauty, vividly embodied in the Gayer-Anderson Museum in Cairo, which to this day houses his vast collection of carpets, furniture, glassware, and other curios.

This text contains a selection of the prints and drawings of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528). It includes some of Durer's best-known works including early figure studies, landscape watercolours, animal studies drawn from nature and his imaginative famous prints such as 'Adam and Eve' and 'Rhinoceros'."

In 1250 B.C. the teenaged son of the Egyptian high priest sets off a series of harrowing events when he accidentally kills the sacred cat of Bubastes and, accompanied by his sister and two foreign slaves, embarks on a dangerous journey to find safe haven beyond the borders of Egypt.

An egotistical royal cat and his dung beetle sidekick track a jewelry thief in this hilarious new series set in ancient Egypt. Nominated for an Edgar Award! Can a lazy cat and a dung-obsessed beetle really crack a mystery? Ra relishes his role as the Pharaoh's beloved—and spoiled—cat. So when an amulet goes missing from the palace, Ra plans to keep enjoying his snacks and nap in the sun. But Ra's friend Khepri, a wise and industrious scarab beetle, insists on investigating in order to save the young servant girl who has been framed for the crime. Once Ra gets going, he decides that being a Great Detective isn't so bad; in fact, he doesn't mind being hailed as “Protector of the Weak and Defender of Justice.” The comically mismatched duo is on the case! Wacky illustrations with fun historical details bring these oddball characters to life. Includes a glossary, pronunciation guide, and detailed author's note. “An ingenious mystery full of entertaining details for fans of ancient Egypt.”—Paula Harrison, author of the Rescue Princesses series

Egyptologist Jack A. Josephson, a writer and researcher in the tradition of the gentleman scholar, has achieved broad recognition as an authority in Egyptian art history. His lucid investigative analyses have probed and redefined the limits of inquiry, expanded research parameters, and broadened perspectives, emphasizing the undeniable contributions of art history in an intra-disciplinary framework. This volume of collected essays is dedicated to Josephson by distinguished friends and colleagues, a select roster including eminent, established scholars in the field of Egyptology and rising stars of the younger generation. Josephson views Egyptian art history as a critical but neglected area of study, and is a strong proponent of its reinstatement in the academic curriculum as an essential component in the formation of new cadres. The quality of the articles in this Egyptological medley is a tribute to the honoree and an affirmation of the esteem of his peers, while the range of subjects and variety of themes addressed reflect the degree to which he has, in his own scholarship, undertaken to implement his ideal.