“THE ARGIVE HERAEUM HOLDS A POSITION UNIQUE AMONG ALL SITES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD”: FIRST EDITION OF THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF EXCAVATIONS, RICHLY ILLUSTRATED

WALDSTEIN, Charles. The Argive Heraeum. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1902-05. Two volumes. Folio (10 by 14 inches), original dark gray cloth gilt, top edges gilt, uncut. $1200.

First edition of the richly illustrated official record of the archeological excavations and discoveries at the Argive Heraeum, with 144 full-page plates—several folding, a few printed in color, several photogravures printed in sepia—as well as dozens of in-text photographs and line drawings.

The excavations on the site of the Argive Heraeum were carried out by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens under Charles Waldstein’s direction, from 1892-95. In ancient Greece, a temple or sanctuary dedicated to Hera, the queen of the Olympian gods, was called a Heraeum. The most important of these was the Argive Heraeum, five miles northeast of Argos, where Hera’s cult was established at an early date (circa 750 BC). A number of successive temples occupied this site, the last and best known of which was a limestone structure in the Doric order designed by the architect Eupolemos (423 BC), which housed a famous gold and ivory statue of the goddess by Polyclitus the Elder. Ex-library Brookline (MA) Public Library, with bookplates, perforated stamp to title pages and a few text leaves, ink stamp on each plate, evidence of paper shelf label removal to spines, and pencil notations.

Near-fine condition.