The New York Obelisk Cleopatra S Needle

This delightful book tells the story of how Cleopatra's needle, the popular Egyptian obelisk that is now located in Manhattan's Central Park, came to New York in January of 1881.-- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

Hardcover reprint of the original 1891 edition - beautifully bound in brown cloth covers featuring titles stamped in gold, 8vo - 6x9". No adjustments have been made to the original text, giving readers the full antiquarian experience. For quality purposes, all text and images are printed as black and white. This item is printed on demand. Book Information: Moldenke, Charles Edward. The New York Obelisk, Cleopatra's Needle. With A Preliminary Sketch of The History, Erection, Uses, And Signification of Obelisks. Indiana: Repressed Publishing LLC, 2012. Original Publishing: Moldenke, Charles Edward. The New York Obelisk, Cleopatra's Needle. With A Preliminary Sketch of The History, Erection, Uses, And Signification of Obelisks, . New York, 1891. Subject: Obelisks

In the half-century between 1831 and 1881 three massive obelisks left Egypt for new lands. Prior to these journeys, the last large obelisk moved was the Vatican obelisk in 1586 – one of the great engineering achievements of the Renaissance. Roman emperors moved more than a dozen, but left no records of how they did it. The nineteenth-century engineers entrusted with transporting the obelisks across oceans had to invent new methods, and they were far from certain that they would work. As the three obelisks, bound for Paris, London and New York, sailed towards their new homes, the world held its breath. Newspapers reported the obelisks' daily progress, complete with dramatic illustrations of the heroic deeds of the engineers and crews struggling under nearly impossible conditions. When the obelisks finally arrived safely in their new homes, bands played Cleopatra's Needle Waltz and silver obelisk pencils dangled from fashionable ladies' necks. This turbulent era, caught up in obelisk mania, is recreated by Bob Brier in all its glory. Amid astounding tales of engineering dexterity and naval endurance, the individuals involved in transporting the obelisks and receiving them in their future homes are brought to life through their letters and diaries, newspaper articles and illustrations. Written by a renowned Egyptologist and author, this compelling book will fascinate all those interested in Egypt, its iconic monuments and the history of great endeavour.

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Excerpt from The New York Obelisk, "Cleopatra's Needle," From Egypt to Central Park There are also about a dozen more in Egypt that we know of, but these are prostrate, including the one still in the quarry at Assuan. We are not sure if Obelisks were inscribed before or after erection, altho' due to the fact that some now standing are uninscribed, it would appear that they were erected before they were inscribed. The height of the New York obelisk is 69 feet 6 inches, and the weight pounds. The highest one in Rome is 105 feet 6 inches, and weighs pounds, and from this they run down to only a few feet not much more than headstones. Egyptians must have been possessed of a very high degree of engineering skill to quarry them out of the mountain side and place them many hundreds of miles away, exactly where they were wanted. We have no knowledge of how this was done, but there in Assuan prostrate in its quarry, -25 feet longer than ours in New York, lies an unfinished obelisk which may one day reveal the mystery. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.