“THE DISCOVERY AND DOCUMENTATION OF KNOSSOS, LARGEST SITE OF THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION”: FIRST EDITIONS OF THE PIONEERING FIRST TWO VOLUMES IN EVANS’ PALACE OF MINOS AT KNOSSOS, 1921-28

EVANS, Arthur. The Palace of Minos…. At Knossos. London: Macmillan, 1921, 1928. Three volumes. Tall quarto, original full gilt-stamped cloth, top edges gilt.

First editions of Volume I and the two-part Volume II of Evans’ magnum opus, profusely illustrated with hundreds of color and black-and-white illustrations, many full page, and numerous folding maps and plans (including three large folding plans in rear pocket of Volume III), a splendid set, scarce in bright gilt-stamped original cloth.

Before renowned British archeologist Arthur Evans began his work in Crete, “knowledge of the Bronze Age Minoan culture was only faintly reflected in a few classical Greek myths.” On completing his masterful Palace of Minos at Knossos, begun with the publication of these scarce first editions of Volume I (1921) and the two-part Volume II (1928) “the Minoan periods on Crete had been defined well enough to identify them as a major civilization” (Miller, Athena Review). Evans first visited Crete in 1894 and, after the Turks evacuated Crete in 1899, began excavating a property he had bought there; “Almost immediately, an elaborate Bronze Age palace with numerous clay tablets were revealed” (Dictionary of Art Historians). He soon initiated “large-scale, systematic excavations at Knossos in 1900, and by the end of 1903 had uncovered many of the foundations of the large, sprawling structures he designated as the Palace… Numerous examples of the now famous frescoes, discovered mainly as small fragments, were boldly restored. Evans is also responsible for restoring many of the now famous rooms within the palace, such as the Throne Room, with its pair of griffins in a fresco flanking a gypsum stone seat.” Evans drew on “ancient Greek mythology to postulate the site as the palace of the legendary King Minos… whose labyrinth contained the mythic Minotaur… Besides his pioneering work in excavating the main palace site, among Evans’ most significant discoveries at Knossos were the recovery of about 3000 ancient Linear A and B writing tablets… Evans stands as a major archaeologist whose creative imagination, motivation, and scholarship led him from an initial interest in inscriptions on tiny, carved seals to the discovery and documentation of Knossos, largest site of the Minoan civilization” (Miller). With hundreds of illustrations, including a color frontispiece in each volume, numerous color and black-and-white plates, many folding maps and plans (including three large folding plans in rear pocket of Vol. III), and hundreds of in-text illustrations.

Text and plates fresh with only one small closed marginal tear (I), lightest edge-wear, faint rubbing to bright gilt-stamped original cloth. A most desirable about-fine set.