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HT Henry Francis Herbert Thompson (1859-1944), Egyptologist

Herbert Thompson was born in London, 2 April 1859. He was educated at Marlborough and Trinity College, Cambridge, BA, 1881. He became a barrister but then turned to medicine instead. He abandoned medicine after research in the laboratories of University College, London, and particularly the use of a microscope, damaged his eyesight. He succeeded to a baronetcy, 1904, and followed his father as Chairman of Golders Green Crematorium. He became interested in Egyptology and studied with Flinders Petrie, Francis Griffith and Walter Crum at University College, London. He was a Lecturer at University College, London, 1915-16, and a fellow. He worked on Demotic papyri in the British Museum and, with Walter Crum, on the publication of a Coptic dictionary. He was a generous supporter of archaeological digs; he bequeathed his working library to the Egypt Exploration Fund and his rare books to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; and he left a legacy to establish a Chair in Egyptology at Cambridge University. He died in Bath, 26 May 1944.

Correspondence and papers, 1906-40

The collection mainly comprises notes and correspondence.

3 boxes

The Library also holds 20 card index drawers of notes and some additional notes, kept in Room 207 (uncatalogued).

index of people, places and institutions

HT/1 Notes on Demotic papyri from Rifeh
1906-7
1 folder
Thompson wrote a chapter on this subject for W. M. Flinders Petrie, Gizeh and Rifeh (1907)
English and Demotic

HT/2 Notes on Demotic papyri in the British Museum, London, prepared for Kurt Sethe
1912
1 bundle
Thompson prepared a short catalogue of the collection for the Museum. These notes are a collation of references from E. Revillout, Corpus Papyrorum
With additional notes on BM 10484 and 10491-504
English, French, German and Demotic

HT/3 Notes on mathematical papyri
1926
1 folder
With notes by Walter Crum
English, French, Coptic and Demotic

HT/4 Notes on eponymous priests under the Ptolemies
1931
1 bundle
English, Greek, Coptic and Demotic

HT/5 Notes on Coptic manuscripts
undated
1 bundle
Comprises notes on the form of manuscripts, including scripts, materials and bindings
With sketches
English, French, German and Coptic

HT/6 Notes on bilingual manuscripts
undated
1 bundle
English, French, Greek and Coptic

HT/7 Notes on Turin papyri
undated
1 folder
Includes transliterations, translations and notes relating to the Deir el Medina papyri in the Egyptian Museum, Turin
English, French and Demotic

HT/8 Notes on taxes
undated
1 bundle
Thompson published a series of articles on Demotic tax receipts in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology (1913)
English, German, Coptic, Greek and Demotic

HT/9 Notes on manuscripts about loans
undated
1 bundle
English, Greek and Demotic

HT/10 Miscellaneous notes
undated
1 bundle
English, German, Coptic and Demotic
With photographs of papyri and ostraca

HT/11 General academic correspondence
1912-37
1 bundle, ms and typescript
With notes
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent
English, French, Italian and German

HT/12 Correspondence with Giuseppe Botti
1940
5 items, ms and typescript
English and Italian

HT/13 Letters from Douglas Cockerell
1931-3
30 items

HT/14 Letters from Walter Crum
1909-37
19 items
English and German

HT/15 Letters from Nora Griffith (3), on behalf of Hugh Last, 1936, and Francis Llewellyn Griffith (2), 1924-5
1924-5, 1936
5 items, ms and typescript

HT/16 Correspondence with A. Hebbelynck
1921
9 items, ms and typescript
French

HT/17 Letters from G. P. Sobhy
1911, 1924
8 items
With photographs and notes

HT/18 Correspondence with John Gavin Tait
1921-3, 1931
8 items

HT/19 Watercolours of Egyptian artefacts
undated
2 sheets
Signed 'L. E.' and 'G. G.'

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Page date: 26 October, 2007