English & Arabic Dictionary accompanied by Dialogues & Useful Notes for the Use of the British Army of Occupation

MOSCONAS, Demetrius

Published by ( British Army Commissariat and Transport Staff ), Cairo, 1884

About this Item

Original printed wraps illustrated with a royal coat of arms 11 x 16cm, (15), LXIV, 256pp. Wraps stained with small perforations, some loss to spine, and pencil notations to the back. The first section is coming loose. Interiors very good, tanned with some creasing. This appears to be the first and only edition. Rare - traced to 8 locations, none of which on Copac (OCLC 28229177). Mosconas (1839-95), a Greek resident in Egypt, here credits himself as interpreter to the British Army's Commissariat and Transport Staff. He had been a student of the Egyptologist Heinrich Brugsch, and also worked as a translator for Thomas Cook, and US Consul at Suakin (Liesbeth Zack, 2016: 11). He prepared this for soldiers who had fought in the Egyptian Campaign of 1882 which saw the British occupy and take control of Egypt, and the Sudan Expedition of 1884 (presumably the ongoing efforts to lift the siege at Khartoum 1884-85). The focus is therefore on Egyptian Arabic. He includes a grammar adapted to vulgar conversational Arabic (Part I), dialogues (divided into reconnaissance (road, mountain, ferry, bridge, marsh, fortress, the enemy, foraging), and familiar phrases and conversations - Part II), a dictionary (Part III), and practical information. Seller Inventory # 3381

Bibliographic Details

Title: English & Arabic Dictionary accompanied by ...

Publisher: ( British Army Commissariat and Transport Staff ), Cairo

Publication Date: 1884

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition