The work presented here offers an opportunity to see, through the eyes of a master craftsman, the marvels of Egyptian architecture. The masterpiece of David Roberts, the 19th century Scottish romantic artist and one of the best known and most skilful. architectural painters of his time, these paintings give a stylish and complete picture of Egypt and Nubia in the early 19th century. David Roberts' work was overshadowed by later developments in painting styles and he remained, until recently, known mainly to Egyptologists and specialists of 19th century romantic painting. His significance to the modern world lies in his exceptional overall and accurate representation of the great Egyptian monuments in his time. Produced during his Nile travels in 1838 and his later sojourn in Cairo and Alexandria in 1839, before the use of travel photography, the drawings show the state of the buildings in their original sites before the creation of the huge Aswan high dam caused the re-location of many of the fine monuments depicted here. The rapid increase of the population of Egypt and the great changes taking place in that country: irrigation works, urbanisation and other developments are likely to cause the further displacement of other buildings and endanger even such a wonder as the Sphinx at Gaza. Such likely events enhance the historical importance of this volume. The plates shown in this book are taken from the volume Egypt and Nubia, published between 1846 and 1849. We have retained the original commentary, written by William Brockedon. This reflects not only what was known about the history of Egypt in the mid 19th century, but also the ideas held about Egypt by an English gentleman of that period. This introduction is followed by a biographical outline of David Roberts, a description of his travels in Egypt and Nubia and notes on the first edition of his works in the Levant.