Hand-painted lithograph, mm 350 x 500 on a 426 x 610 mm sheet. From Egypt & Nubia, considered, along with The Holy Land (also by the same artist), the greatest work illustrated in lithography of the 19th century. After studying art and working as a theatre painter in Glasgow and London, David Roberts (1796-1864) embarked on a long journey that took him to much of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Fascinating and exotic locations that particularly captivated him, he captured them in numerous watercolors. Upon returning to England, he managed to publish the paintings with the London publisher Moon, who, in addition to paying him handsomely for the rights, hired him to supervise the work of Louis Haghe, who was to reproduce the originals in lithography. This is Roberts's assessment of Haghe's work: "Haghe has not only surpassed himself, but all that has come after has been done of a similar nature. He has rendered the views in a clear, simple, and unlabored style, with a masterly vigor and boldness that none but a painter like him could have transferred to stone." The publication of the work was an immediate and enormous success, which contributed significantly to placing Roberts among the greatest painters of landscapes and architecture. Abbey Travel I, 272: "One of the most important and elaborate ventures of nineteenth-century publishing, and...the apotheosis of the tinted lithograph." A fine copy, with some stains in the margins.