biblios explorare

Nunquam Sine Libris - Never Without A Book
BIBLIOS EXPLORARE
HAG
GA
BRA RD NO
D
V
P.O LEY HO ELS:
Hun
. Bo
tsvi
x 80 DGE
lle,
Tex 07
TEL
as 7
E
734
(936 PHON
0
E
) 29
4 97
45
EMA
SIN
IL
ELIB
Deceember 2011
Issue No. One
Sir Rider Haggard, Author
RIS
.CO @GMAI
M
L
Introduction to a ‘Study’ on
Rider Haggard’s Rings, Issue 1
“Anything more picturesque, and, at
the same time, more mysterious, even
the fancy of a Rider Haggard could
not have depicted, than the entrance
into this ancient and fabulous
Eldorado.” The Eldorado Of The Ancients,
1902, Dr. Carl Peters. Possible
location of King Solomon’s Mines.
Kings ix. 26-28: “And King
Solomon made a navy of ships . . . “
VISIONARY ADVENTURES &
LITERARY WANDERINGS
THE YEARS ROLL BY, THE SHERD OF AMENARTAS
The study of history through the writings and works of
great literary minds has always fascinated me. Indeed,
my previous study of Rider Haggard’s bookplate (see
new article) stemmed from an interest in one of the three
Haggard Egyptian rings appearing in the ‘Strand issue,
1892’. My brief ‘Study’ tells about the hieroglyphs which
were cut into a new bronze seal to duplicate one of these
ancient rings. The same ring’s seal was depicted
throughout Haggard’s novel, She.
To understand the meaning of these ancient rings and/
also Haggard’s bookplate, I found that one needed to
study them from the perspective of that era, and not
from the scientific data of modern Egyptologists.
Archaeology was in its infancy in 1890 and its practice
undefined. Whereas the study of Egyptian hieroglyphics,
today, has grown to an understanding of its phonetics - a
language unheard of for over 4,000 years!
The information provided in this brief study about
Haggard’s adventures and travels will appear in my
forthcoming novel and, possibly, a computer game!
Authors often wonder from whence their inspiration and
insight flows. Rider Haggard and his great friend
Rudyard Kipling both shared a unique literary vision. In
the 1904 letters from Kipling to Haggard, Kipling stated
that he experienced what seemed transcendental
experiences, ‘for he and Haggard agreed that such
intense mystic moments (existed but) could not be
prolonged’. These powers controlled those who were
visited by them, but they held little credence in any
organized attempts to make contact with them. Still with
all of our modern powers to research and utilize
information, one wonders at the ‘guiding hand’ of the
Scribe, and its presence from ages past. Maybe those
from another time, and of a sensitive nature, left us more
than just another story.
Wishing You All The Very Best,
Bradley Hodge
Howard Carter’s 1st trip to Egypt 1891, EEF Committee.
Stationery & Bookplate created by Rider Haggard (right).
Silver Edition, Longmans Green, Coloured Sherd Plates
Bookplate, Sir Henry Rider
Haggard, deciphered by B. Hodge
“I die not. I shall come
again, and shall once more
be beautiful. I swear it it is true!” - She
The English novelist Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) is one of a few authors
who created their own mythological worlds, which based on the history of modern
man, produced a great impact on the explorers of the late 19th century. Has our
scientific world ceased to provide a Myth (Joseph Campbell), which man so
desperately needs, to extend himself beyond the shores of tomorrow?
Biblios Explorare, P.O. Box 8007, Huntsville, Texas 77340 USA | Tel: 936-294-9745 | Email: [email protected]
Copyright © 2011 This material may not be used without the express written permission of the author (Bradley Hodge).
Nunquam Sine Libris - Never Without A Book
BIBLIOS EXPLORARE
HAG
GA
BRA RD NO
D
V
P.O LEY HO ELS:
Hun
. Bo
tsvi
x 80 DGE
lle,
Tex 07
TEL
as 7
E
734
(936 PHON
0
E
) 29
4 97
45
EMA
SIN
IL
ELIB
Deceember 2011
Issue No. One
Sir Rider Haggard, Author
RIS
.CO @GMAI
M
L
The Way Of The Spirit, A
Revelation In Ancient Wax Seal
The title 'Son of Re' added to the royal
titulary during the 4th Dynasty (c.2613
-2494BC). Djedefre, first king to use
‘Suten Se Ra’, representing the popularity
of solar god Re.
THE GREAT STORYTELLER
THE UNTOLD STORY, THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
In 1885 Henry Rider Haggarad invented a new type
of fantasy adventure called “The Lost Race” novel.
Andrew Lang called him “Cher Monsieur le
Chevalier’ . . .
Continued on Page 2
THE CLOAK THAT I LEFT, A PASSION FOR EGYPT
The “She” ring is a good example of Old Kingdom
Egyptian hieroglyphs . . .
Wax stamp seal created 2011, Wax-Works, Victoria, B.C., in style of ‘Suten Se
Ra’ (Royal Son Of Ra or the Sun) Rider Haggard Egytian scarab ring..
Continued on Page 3
A VOICE FROM THE INFINITE, THE RECORD OF A
FRIENDSHIP
Sir Henry Rider Hagard’s research and mysteries
extended beyond his travels to his friends . . .
Continued on Page 4
SOURCES, THE PRIVATE DIARIES OF SIR H. RIDER
HAGGARD 1914-1925
The Telling Of The Rings & Bibliography
RKO 1935 film, Helen Gahagan & Helen Mack
Gold ring Amenophis II 18th dynasty,
New Kingdom, 1427-1392 BC.
Haggard was awe struck to view the gold signet
ring of Meneptha, son of Rameses II, believed
to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus - “a ring that
Moses must have looked upon!” Dr. Grant,
1887, Egypt.
Continued on Page 5
The titles and sub titles expressed in this Issue represent books about the famous author and Egyptology during the author’s life.
“Rode to the tombs of the Kings, and saw those of Seti, Rameses III, and Amenhotep II, all lit with electricity. A wonderful and weird place
this Valley of the Kings, with its rugged, naked cliffs, shattered by sun and time.” - Haggard, The Cloak That I Left. See endpapers of this book
for drawing of wax stamp seal used in the novel She.
Biblios Explorare, P.O. Box 8007, Huntsville, Texas 77340 USA | Tel: 936-294-9745 | Email: [email protected]
Copyright © 2011 This material may not be used without the express written permission of the author (Bradley Hodge).
BIBLIOS EXPLORARE!
PAGE
3
The Untold Story,
THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
The most famous of the “Lost Race”
novelists, Sir Henry Rider Haggard (b.
22 June 1856 – d. 14 May 1925). He
traveled to Egypt from England in
1887 (wrote Cleopatra), 1904 (with
Angela Haggard, Howard Carter’s
tomb Nefertiti/Rameses II), Feb. 1911
(with Angela), and Jan. 1924 (with
Lilias Haggard). Travel was an ordeal
and not a convenience. It usually
resulted in unexpected adventures
which added to the authenticity of the
settings and characters in his novels.
Haggard shared the era’s fashion of
collecting antiquities, which were, also,
used in his novels. The buying and
selling of antiquities was a common
place practice in the early 1900s. In
stories of lost worlds and lost
civilizations Haggard provided a new
hope to an ‘old age’ of greater wonders
awaiting their discovery from the
distant past. By 1881, Emile Bughsch
was opening up the forgotten secrets of
the Valley of Kings and the tombs of
40 Pharaohs. Rider found friends
amoung the imminent archaeologists
Sir Gaston Maspero, Dr. E.A. Wallis
Budge, and Howard Carter (who
would die knowing the location of
A l ex a n d e r T h e G re at ’s t o m b ) .
Haggard’s first visit to Egypt was
almost his last. While creeping through
a tomb and shouting to his friends
outside the roof collapsed and
Haggard was almost buried alive.
Haggard would eventually pen 13
novels with ancient Egyptian themes.
He, also, believed in the sanctity of
‘mummified remains’ and wrote the
following to the ‘Times’, 13 Feb. 1922,
"when we remember what was the faith
of these men, Pharaohs or peasants,
and that the disturbance of their tombs
and bodies was the greatest horror by
which they were obsessed, is it not an
outrage and one of the most unholy?"
Budge often allowed Haggard to view
the Egyptian collection at the British
museum alone. In a diary entry he
w ro t e, 1 5 S e p t 1 9 1 6 , t h a t M r.
Blackman, the Egyptologist, has taken
off all my Egyptian rings (Tiy’s,
Nefertiti’s, etc.) to show to the
Ashmolean Museum and to publish. It
is curious how deeply everything
Egyptian interests me.” - Private
Diaries of Haggard. In ancient Egypt
Haggard found his spiritual home.
Maspero told him that he could not
conceive how it was possible for a
modern man to have written works so
full of the true and inner thought and
spirit of Ancient Egypt. “Fantasy
Adventure” was discovered in 1885 by
Henry Rider Haggard. A. Lang would
refer to Haggard as “Cher Monsieur le
Chevalier’. Gibbons expresses, "One
puts down a book by Haggard with the
sigh: 'Ah, if only life were like that!' and
then one suspects that somewhere, for
some people, it may be."
The designated symbols below: S3, SW,
Re, are presented in hieroglyphs on
Page 6.
Actual Sherd of Amenartas appears in uncial and cursive Greek scripts and is on display at the Norwich Castle Museum. Hieroglyphs from Egyptian ring
appearing in She for wax stamp.
The scarabaeus mark appears in the top left of the Front side (left picture) of the sherd
in Haggard’s SHE.
Wax Stamp Hieroglyphs, shown as a logogram, consisted of the Sun (god, creator, Re/Ra); Sedgelike Plant, SW (Old Kingdom leaves
overlapped); and Pintail Egyptian Duck, S3 (short neck 4th dynasty/Old Kingdom 2600BCE - 2300BCE). By the 4th dynasty the pharaohs,
who had previously only used one name, were now seen to be Ra's manifestations on earth, referred to as "Sons of Ra". Djedefre in the 4th
dynasty was the first Pharaoh to add the royal titulary "Son of Re/Suten Se Ra” representing the popularity of the solar god Re.
Biblios Explorare, P.O. Box 8007, Huntsville, Texas 77340 USA | Tel: 936-294-9745 | Email: [email protected]
Copyright © 2011 This material may not be used without the express written permission of the author.
BIBLIOS EXPLORARE!
PAGE
4
The Cloak That I Left,
A PASSION FOR EGYPT
the Sun.' “
Longmans Green & Co, London, 1887; The novel
She depicts the fourth dynasty logogram, often inversed - printer’s dilemma, which appears on one of the
three rings worn by Rider Haggard throughout his life.
HIEROGLYPHIC INTERPRETATION
The oval scarabaeus ring [“Suten Se Ra Royal Son of the Sun”] contains a circular
hieroglyph within a circle of the Sun god
Re(‘creative power’), which had become the
majority deity by the end of the Fourth
Dynasty Old Kingdom; the Pintail Duck ,
S3(‘son’, ‘keep watch’); and a Sedgelike
Plant/Reed, SW(‘truth & justice’) with Old
Kingdom overlapping leaves completes it.
The “She” ring is a good example of Old
Egyptian (ca2600BCE - ca2300BCE) when
the first pre-rational contextualizing
determinatives appear and single wordimages are formed into groups to convey a
particular thought. This phase ends in the
late Sixth Dynasty with sentences no longer
able to convey, in a short laconical way,
insights of incredible depth.
The title ‘Son of Re’ was added to the royal
titulary during the 4th dynasty. Djedefre
was the first king to use this manifestation.
II. “I rose to follow him, and as I did so I
caught sight of something bright lying on
the floor, which I picked up. Perhaps the
reader will remember that
with the potsherd in the
casket was a composition
scarabaeus marked with a
round O, a goose, and
another
curious
hieroglyphic, the meaning
of which is "Suten se Ra,"
or "Royal Son of the Sun."
The scarab, which is a very
small one, Leo had insisted
upon having set in a massive
g o l d r i n g, s u c h a s i s
generally used for signets,
Randolph Scott & Nigel Bruce, film ‘She’, RKO, 1935
and it was this very ring that
I now picked up. He had
pulled it off in the paroxysm
of his fever, at least I suppose so, and
flung it down upon the rock-floor.
Thinking that if I left it about it might
get lost, I slipped it on my own little
finger, and then followed Billali, leaving
Job and Ustane with Leo.”
TRANSFORMATION OF MYTH THROUGH TIME
According to one myth, Ra ruled on
earth as Pharaoh until he became old
and weary. The people lost respect for
him and no longer obeyed his laws. Ra
decided that they should be punished. He
sent his "Eye" to teach them a lesson, but
then had to arrange to get her drunk to
prevent her killing everyone. Once the
danger had been averted, Ra decided it
was time for him to leave the world to
Horus ( who took his place as the king)
and traveled across the sky on Nut's back.
She, 1886: A verso hand drawn style of
the glyph as seen on Haggard’s Egyptian
ring, and/also appears in the papyrus
fragment found with the sherd in chapter
III of the novel - “a small chocolate
coloured composition scarabaeus marked
thus”.
FROM THE NOVEL SHE
I. “ I g ro p ed a b o u t, a n d p ro d u c ed
something hard, done up in a little linen
bag. Out of the bag we took first a very
beautiful miniature done upon ivory, and,
secondly, a small chocolate-coloured
composition scarabæus ring, marked
thus:- symbols which, we have since
ascertained, mean 'Suten se Ra,' which is
being translated the 'Royal Son of Ra or
A figure created by Bradley Hodge, 2011,
for a wax stamp from the glyph which
appears on the 4th dynasty Egyptian signet
ring and/also in illus. of Greiffenhagen,
Kerr, & Johnson in She 1887 by Rider
Haggard.
Biblios Explorare, P.O. Box 8007, Huntsville, Texas 77340 USA | Tel: 936-294-9745 | Email: [email protected]
Copyright © 2011 This material may not be used without the express written permission of the author.
BIBLIOS EXPLORARE!
PAGE
5
A Voice From The Infinite,
THE RECORD OF A FRIENDSHIP
Sir Henry Rider Hagard’s research
and mysteries extended to Percy
Harrison Fawcwtt (The Lost City Of
Z), John Gladwyn Jebb (Montezuma’s
Treasure), and Howard Carter
(Egyptology and Alexander’s Tomb).
Colonel Fawcett was given a Brazilian
stone idol thought to be from a colony
of Atlantis by Haggard with strange
hieroglyphs which he took on his last
expedition in 1925; Haggard would
accompany Jebb in 1891 to search for a
Mexican treasure which Jebb had
learned about from a Cuban, Don
Anselmo; and Carter’s friendship with
Haggard did not divulge the location of
Alexander’s tomb - Carter, ‘but I shall
not tell anyone about it, least of all the
Antiquities Department. The secret will
die with me.’ And it did, on 2 March
1939. Carter met Haggard in Luxor on
his second visit to Egypt.
The Days Of My Life: “At some date
before he died Lang asked his wife to
give me a certain ring in token of
remembrance. I have now received and
shall always wear this ring. It belonged
to Queen Taia, the wife of Amenophis
III, or perhaps to Nefertiti, her
daughter-in-law, who married the
famous Khu-en-aten, the fourth
Amenophis and the remarkable
Pharaoh who inaugurated what the
priests of Amen considered the heresy
of the worship of the Sun’s Disc, by
which, I take it, he symbolized the one
Almighty God who made the world.
On this ring, which, I think, from the
length of time that it had evidently
been worn, must have adorned the
hand of Taia some 3500 years ago, is
engraved a cat adoring Ra or the Sun,
or perhaps the “Aten” or Disc. I
already possess the sister ring that, from
the less amount of wear it shows, was
probably worn by the shorter-lived
Nefertiti, Khu-en-aten’s adored and, I
believe, sole wife. Both of them were
obtained by us from the Rev. W.J.
Loftie (fellow member Savile Club) in
the year 1887, who acquired them in
Egypt when, about that time, the
mummies of these queens were
discovered and broken up by the Arabs
at Tel-el-Amarna.”
Haggard entered many tombs in 1887,
and/also on other visits with some
being over 4000 years old. The
provenance of many of Haggard’s
antiquities and rings remains unknown.
The wax stamp seal created from
Haggard’s ring is a reminder of the
significance of histor y and its
i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e c re at i o n o f
adventure fiction.
Above ring illustrations “Impressions Of Rings In Sealing-Wax”; from left to right - Queen Taia’s Ring, Pharaoh’s
Ring, & Scarab In She (“a golden circlet - which will always be associated with his career. It is the scarab that figures
in ‘She’. It is a heavy ring, and bears the words, ‘Suten se Ra’ or Royal Son of the Sun.) - Strand Magazine, 1892. Clairvoyant, author, explorer, Sir Henry Rider
Haggard, 1914, wearing Egyptian rings.
Notes: The sister ring or scarab appearing above in ‘She’ may belong to Nefertiti. The mummy of Nefertiti was recently DNA tested (2001) and
proved instead to be a daughter of Yuya and Thuya, and probably Queen Tiye the mother of Akenaten, 18th dynasty New Kingdom - Zahi
Hawass. However, others agree that the royal scarab ring, attributed to ’She’ in the picture above and Queen Tiye, may have been from an
earlier source, due to the attribution and meaning of the hieroglyphs - possibly 4th Dynasty Old Kingdom.
Biblios Explorare, P.O. Box 8007, Huntsville, Texas 77340 USA | Tel: 936-294-9745 | Email: [email protected]
Copyright © 2011 This material may not be used without the express written permission of the author.
BIBLIOS EXPLORARE!
PAGE
6
Sources
THE PRIVATE DIARIES OF SIR H. RIDER HAGGARD 1914-1925
THE TELLING OF THE RINGS: Illustrated Interviews, “Strand Magazine”, 1892. - “Close
by Haggard’s desk of the author Charles Dickens is a little cabinet. From a tiny silver Icelandic
Communion cup a number of rings are put into my hand. One of the most striking of these is
a gold band, thousands of years old, with hieroglyphics engraved upon it signifying ‘the Scribe
makes an offering to the God of Dawn’. Another gold ring is from the mummy of Queen
Taia, the feminine Henry VIII of Egypt, and one of the most fascinating and beautiful women
that ever lived. Its inscription reads, ‘Ank Bes, Bes Ank’ (the living Bes, Bes the living). It has been mended. Mr. Haggard
wore it for a year, but unfortunately he broke it whilst getting out of a cab. Queen Taia must have worn it all her life, for
it shows signs of constant use. Then Mr. Haggard takes from his finger a signet ring he always wears. It was found at
Deir-el-Bahari. Its red stone is believed to chronicle the portrait of Rameses the Great, the Pharaoh of the Oppression,
with whose coffin it was discovered. Here is a Gnostic ring in mediaeval lead setting, and yet another - a golden circlet which will always be associated with his career. It is the scarab that figures in ‘She’. It is a heavy ring, and bears the words, ‘Suten se Ra’ (Royal Son
of the Sun).”
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Aguirre, Robert D. INFORMAL EMPIRE, MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA IN VICTORIAN CULTURE. London: University Of
Minnesota Press, 2003. 199pp.
2. Allen, Roger. A GUIDE TO THE FICTION OF RIDER HAGGARD.England: Roger Allen, 1998. 54pp.
3. Brunner, Cornelia. ANIMA AS FATE. Dallas, Texas. : Spring Publications, 1986. 276pp.
4. Cohen, Martin. RIDER HAGGARD, HIS LIFE AND WORKS. London: Hutchinson, 1960. 327pp.
5. Cohen, Morton, Editor. RUDYARD KIPLING TO RIDER HAGGARD, THE RECORD OF A FRIENDSHIP. London: Hutchinson Of
London, 1965. 196pp.
6. Ellis, Peter Berresford.H. RIDER HAGGARD, A VOICE FROM THE INFINITE. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978. 291pp.
7. Fawcett, Percy. EXPLORATION FAWCETT: JOURNEY TO THE LOST CITY OF Z. New York: Overlook Press (2010), QTPBK
8. Fischer, George. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CALLIGRAPHY. NY: The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, 1999. 4th Ed.
9. Grann, David. THE LOST CITY OF Z, A TALE OF DEADLY OBSESSION IN THE AMAZON.New York: Vintage Departures,
Random House, 2009. 400pp.
10. Green, Roger Lancelyn, M.A., B.Litt. ANDREW LANG, A CRITICAL BIOGRAPHY, WITH A SHORT-TITLE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF
THE WORKS OF ANDREW LANG. Leicester, England: Edmund Ward, 1946. 265pp.
11. Gunn, James. Editor.THE ROAD TO SCIENCE FICTION: FROM GILGAMESH TO WELLS. New York: A Mentor Book, New
American Library, September 1977. 404pp.
12. Haggard, Sir H. Rider. “The Debris Of Majesty”, Daily Mail, 4 June 1904, Norfolk Record Office, Norwich.
13. Haggard, RiderAYESHA, THE RETURN OF SHE. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1905. 359pp.
14. Haggard, Henry Rider. SHE, A HISTORY OF ADVENTURE. NY: Longmans, Green And Co., 1914. 311pp. Silver Edition.
15. Haggard, Lilias Rider. THE CLOAK THAT I LEFT BEHIND, A BIOGRAPHY OF H. RIDER HAGGARD K.B.E. BY HIS
DAUGHTER.London: Hodder And Stoughton, 1951. 288pp.
16. Haggard, Rider and Stephen CoanDIARY OF AN AFRICAN JOURNEY (1914). London: Hurst & Company, 2001. 345pp.
17. Haggard, Rider H. MONTEZUMA'S DAUGHTER.London: Longmans, Green, And Co., 1896. 325pp.
18. Haggard, Rider H. HEART OF THE WORLD.London: Longman, Green, And Co., 1896. 347pp.
19. Haggard, Sir Henry Rider. THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Middlesex: The Echo Library, 2006. 337pp.
20. Hankey, Julie. A PASSION FOR EGYPT, A BIOGRAPHY OF ARTHUR WEIGAL. London: I.B. Tauris, 2001.
21. Higgins, D. S. RIDER HAGGARD THE GREAT STORYTELLER. Cassell: London, 1981. 266pp.
22. Higgins, D. S. RIDER HAGGARD, A BIOGRAPHY. New York: Stein And Day, 1983. 266pp.
23. Higgins, D.S., Editor.THE PRIVATE DIARIES OF SIR H. RIDER HAGGARD 1914-1925.New York: Stein And Day, 1980. 299pp.
24. How, Harry. “Illus. Interviews”, No VII - Mr. H. Rider Haggard, “Strand Magazine”. George Newnes, Ed., London, Jan, 1892. 3-17.
25. Jebb, Mrs. G. Jebb. A STRANGE CAREER: LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOHN GLADWYN JEBB. Edinburgh and London:
William Blackwood And Sons, 1894. 336pp.
26. Leibfried, Philip. RUDYARD KIPLING AND SIR HENRY RIDER HAGGARD ON SCREEN, STAGE, RADIO, AND TELEVISION.
McFarland Publisher: Jefferson, North Carolina,2000. 224pp.
27. Manthorpe, Victoria. CHILDREN OF THE EMPIRE, THE VICTORIAN HAGGARDS. London: Victor Gollancz, 1996. 250pp.
28. Reeves, Nicholas & John H. Taylor. HOWARD CARTER BEFORE TUTANKHAMUN. NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1993.
29. Robinson, Frank. Robert Weinbert, Randy Broecker, & John Gunnison. ART OF IMAGINATION. Portland, Or.: Collectors Press, Inc., 2002.
30. Scott, J.E. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE WORKS OF SIR HENRY RIDER HAGGARD 1856-1925. Takeley, Herts: Elkin Mathews
Ltd., 1947. 258pp.
31. Sheales, Fiona. “Ancient Egypt Magazine” Vol.7, Issue 4, February/March 2007, “A figure from the Rider Haggard Collection”.
32. Whatmore, D.E. H. RIDER HAGGARD, A BIBLIOGRAPHY. London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1987. 187pp.
33. Wilson, Angus.THE STRANGE RIDE OF RUDYARD KIPLING, HIS LIFE AND WORKS.New York: The Viking Press, 1977.
Biblios Explorare, P.O. Box 8007, Huntsville, Texas 77340 USA | Tel: 936-294-9745 | Email: [email protected]
Copyright © 2011 This material may not be used without the express written permission of the author.