Home > An Introduction to Nineteeth Century Mummymania

An Introduction to Nineteeth Century Mummymania

There is hardly a person on America today who does know what an Egyptian mummy is. There have been movies, books, graphic novels, exhibitions and all manner of media to which people have been exposed. Whether or not the information is accurate is another matter all together; what is important, is that some knowledge about these ancient dead is almost universal today. This was not the case in 19th century America, where mummies were mysterious objects of curiosity and wonder, strange visitors from a strange land. Magazine and newspaper articles about mummy discoveries and unwrappings in Europe had been published since the 1760’s, and certainly Americans read about these things, but there was really nothing comparable in their own country.