Identity area
Reference code
TAA iii.51.3.5.1-2
Title
Date(s)
- 2022 (Creation)
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
1 envelope
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
British archaeologist and photographer. Born, Stamford 1879. Died, Asyut 1940. Began his photographic career in Florence with the art historian R. Cust. He was then engaged as a excavator at Thebes by Theodore Davis between 1910-14. Then from 1914 onwards he worked for the rest of his career as a photographer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. His task was to record many of the royal and private tombs at Thebes. Between 1922 and 1933 he was lent by the Metropolitan Museum to Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter to make a photographic record during the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Name of creator
Biographical history
British Egyptologist. Born, London 1874. Died, London 1939. Privately educated. Employed by P. E. Newberry in 1891 working for the Archaeological Survey. Assisted in excavations for the Egypt Exploration Fund 1892-3, was with Petrie at Amarna in 1892, and as a draughtsman to the Deir el-Bahri expedition 1893-9. Appointed Chief Inspector of Antiquities of Upper Egypt 1899-1904. Discovered several royal tombs, including those of Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis IV and Amenophis I. Inspector of Lower Egypt 1905. Employed by Lord Carnarvon from 1909 onwards, to excavate in the Theban necropolis, the Delta and Middle Egypt. His most famous discovery, that of the intact tomb of Tutankhamun, was made in 1922. He spent the next ten years recording the tomb's contents. Most of Carter's records for Tutankhamun's tomb remain unpublished.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Griffith Institute staff member, November 1982 to date.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Presented by Royal Mail Group Limited in December 2022.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Two copies (identical) of the coin cover, 'The Burial of a King: Tutankhamun', produced by Royal Mail in partnership with the Royal Mint, marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Special Stamp Issue 'Tutankhamun', produced by Royal Mail in collaboration with the Griffith Institute, to mark the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Royal Mail Group Ltd commissioned the Griffith Institute to act as consultants supplying all the text and required images for all the Special Stamp products.
- Issued 24-11-2022.
- See https://shop.royalmail.com/special-stamp-issues/tutankhamun/tutankhamun-coin-cover (accessed 19-06-2023).
- The coin cover comprises:
- An envelope with the main set of eight colour stamps, each featuring an object from Tutankhamun's tomb. Araldo De Luca supplied these images.
- All of the stamps are hand-stamped with a design based on one of the Horus-falcon collars found in the tomb.
- The envelope contains a carrier card with a five-pound (£5.00) coin affixed. The text describes Tutankhamun's coffins, sarcophagus and burial shrines.
- Coin cover limited to 10,000 individually numbered covers.
- The two coin covers are limited series numbers '05135' and '05137'.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Property of the Griffith Institute. No restrictions.
Conditions governing reproduction
- The Special Stamp Collection 'Tutankhamun', envelope and carrier card are all © Royal Mail Group Limited.
- The coin is © The Royal Mint.
- The text and many accompanying images, including the three Burton photographs featured on stamps, are © Griffith Institute, University of Oxford. The Royal Mail has licensed the text and images for the period 02-09-2022 to 02-09-2025 (inclusive).
- Araldo De Luca supplied the main stamp colour images. See https://araldodeluca.com/ (accessed 19/06/2023).
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
- The five-pound coin (£5.00) is made of cupro-nickel.
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
- First Day Cover texts composed by Elizabeth Fleming, in 2022.