A Guide to the Kabul Museum. The National Museum of Afghanistan by Dupree, Ann and Louis, A.A. Motamedi - 1964

Kabul: Education Press/Franklin Book Programs, 1964. Book. Fine. Soft cover. First Edition. [xi], 80pp, text illustrations (mainly floor and room plans), 47 plates with facing caption pages. 16mo/16cm. Green pictorial wrappers, front panel light edgewear, backpanel light woil, internally fine.. The guide is organized largely by exhibit Rooms, i.e., Bamiyan, Begram, Coin, Ethnographic, Fondukistan, Hadda I and II, Islamic Arts, Mundigak and Shotorak Rooms with essays on specialized subjects, e.g., Schlumberger on Islamic antiquities+ and the last ninety four pages showing a selection of photographic images from the Museum's collections. This first edition had been translated and adapted in part from the French language catalogue mimeographed in 1961 but with much new material added, partly with the help of Nancy Hatch Wolfe (later to replace Ann Dupree as Louis Dupree's wife). Nancy Hatch Dupree later became the most active member of SPACH, the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage, organized primarily to assist in the recovery of the items looted from this museum.) See much about the looting and recovery effort on the Internet, e.g., through Google search engine. Apparently the Museum opened again in August 2000 after being closed for ten years. Nancy Hatch Dupree is still probably the most authoritative Western observer of the Afghan scene and is currently heading the effort to establish a major library of Afghan materials, many of which were donated by her and her late husband. Among her many recognitions, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Williams College in 2004 for her writings and extensive efforts to assist Afghanistan. Hanifi 59; Wilber 44. Scarce..