The False Gods by George Horace Lorimer was illustrated in 1906 by a young J.C. Leyendecker. It is not mentioned in any of the reference books on Leyendecker.
1906 was an interesting moment for the world's perception of ancient Egypt. 19th century colonial exploration had revealed-- but not solved-- many of the intriguing mysteries of that fabled empire. The discovery of King Tut's tomb, which sparked the international Egyptian craze, was still 16 years away.
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| The Riddle of the Sphinx by Elihu Vedder (1836) |
Books such as The False Gods filled in gaps between the the initial speculations and the archaeological facts. Without photographs or scientific evidence, the public had to rely upon the imaginations of artists. Illustrators were the George Lucases and the Steven Spielbergs of their day, inventing the images for an insatiable public and shaping their fantasies.
In 1906, Howard Carter was an unemployed artist who had traveled to Egypt inspired by books. He first found work copying tomb decorations. During long stretches of unemployment, he supported himself by painting watercolors which he sold to tourists. He wandered around the Valley of the Kings searching for ancient tombs and eventually became a bona fide Egyptologist.
Funded by British Lord Carnarvon, in 1922 Carter stumbled upon one of the most famous Egyptian archaeological discoveries of all time, King Tut's tomb.
In an era before television or the internet, illustrated books like this one served as a stepping stone to all kinds of explorations and achievements.
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