A Coptic Christian woman dictating a letter to a scribe, Cairo, Egypt. Coloured lithograph by Louis Haghe after David Roberts, 1849.

London (20 Threadneedle Street) : F.G. Moon, 1 September 1849.

1 print : lithograph with tint plate, with watercolour and gum arabic.

The letter-writer ; David Roberts R.A. L. Haghe lith Bears number in pencil : 117

David Roberts travelled in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Egypt, from 1838 to 1839. During his journey, Roberts produced a great number of sketches. He developed these into watercolours, which were the basis for the series of 247 lithographs called The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, published between 1842 and 1849

Travel in aquatint and lithography 1770-1860 from the library of J.R. Abbey, San Francisco 1991, vol. 1, 272.III.117

N. Serikoff, Islamic calligraphy from the Wellcome Library, London 2007, p. 22, fig. 24

Wellcome Collection 34531i

The entire series of 247 lithographs was divided into six volumes, which were also available as two separate publications of three volumes each. The three volumes of Middle Eastern subjects are called The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, often referred to as "The Holy Land". The remaining three volumes are called Egypt & Nubia