de Franciscis, Alfonso

The National Archeological Museum of Naples

Naples, Italy: Edizioni Interdipress, 1974. First Edition. Softcover. “The Naples Archeological Museum has perhaps one of the wealthiest and most complete collections of art treasures and documents pertaining to the Classic World. This is partly because many treasures have been supplied from the excavations of the two buried cities Pompei and Herculaneum and also because the collections of the Farnese Family are now housed in the museum. Furthermore for more than a century when other local museums were not yet in existence any discoveries made in the Kingdom of Naples were automatically sent to the Museum together with various collections.” (from introduction) Archeologist Alfonso De Franciscis (1915-1989) compiled this catalog of the most significant holdings at the Naples Archeological Museum (NAM) in Italy. The building that houses the museum was built in 1585 and was renovated into a university in early 1600s. The university was moved in 1777, and the Naples National Museum moved in until 1957 at which time the Art Gallery branched off to become the Museo di Capodimonte, leaving the archeological relics behind to become its own entity. The Naples Archeological Museum houses bronze and marble sculptures of ancient Greek and Roman figures, impressively intricate and intact mosaics, paintings recovered from murals in the ruins, ceramics, jewelry, instruments, and armor. Their survival is proof of the impressive artistic advancements of the ancient civilizations of Europe. From the collection of Barbara (1935-2023) & Irving (1933-2018) Nusbaum - world travelers, connoisseurs, eminent collectors of art & books, and the dearly beloved late parents of our esteemed founder, Arthur S. Nusbaum. Their family vacation to Italy in 1975 is when they visited the museum and purchased this catalog. Softcover: first edition, first printing. Book is in good-to-near fine condition with minor-to-moderate peeling to the outer edges of front cover’s glossy laminate which has been protected from further damage with our archival protective cover; minor-to-moderate rubbing, scratching to the glossy black areas of front, back covers; minor bumping to the top and bottom corners of covers and pageblock; creasing to top corner of page 53/54 where previously dog-eared by one of the Nusbaums, perhaps remembering that page’s entry from their own visit; otherwise, pages are crisp and clean. Good-Near Fine. [Item #6750]

Price: $40.00