Main Purpose For Developing the Rosetta Stone Replicas

The Freeman Institute® owns a Black History collection of well over 2,500 vintage documents and artifacts, with the oldest piece dated 1553. The goal is to develop Black History galleries, connecting the African American experience with galleries in major U.S. cities and in selected cities internationally (parts of Canada, Europe, Africa and South America and every Caribbean country) -- designed to educate and inspire this generation. Each gallery will have a wall dedicated to some of the White abolitionists who sacrificed their time...and some their lives for the anti-slavery cause. This vision also includes the exhibition of replicas of the Rosetta Stone in every gallery in the world. Dr. Joel Freeman, The Freeman Institute® Foundation and Rosetta Classic, LLC are supervising the creation of a mold and the fabrication of replicas.

Why? A life-size, 3D reproduction of the Rosetta Stone in each gallery provides a literal touchstone to ancient times -- reminding people that Egypt is in Africa...not the Middle East -- giving an opportunity to showcase the accomplishments of other ancient African Kingdoms that have passed down much of their history through oral tradition (Ghanian, Songehay, Great Zimbabwe, Malian, etc.). The exhibition of the replica also provides a context for African American history, reminding visitors that ancient African history did not start with slavery. Black History started with inventiveness, creativity, royalty, perseverance and so much more...providing a context for all of the documents and artifacts exhibiting the part African Americans played in the past four centuries of American history.

- FOR MORE INFO: Dr. Freeman owns (and is willing to sell one at a time) 82 extremely rare original plates/prints ( from "Description de l'Égypte" from the Napoleonic Egyptian Campaign, circa 1820. These official plates/prints came from a huge lot sold in an auction in 2001, Paris -- the seller was the French Government -- from the cellars of the French Government Publications Office. Each one has the official "EGYPTE ANCIENNE ET MODERNE" watermark. Average plate/print size is 29 inches x 22 inches. Some of the plates in this collection are 56 inches long!

BACKGROUND: In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte launched an expedition of 35,000 soldiers to conquer Egypt. The campaign revealed the splendor of a mysterious and forgotten civilization, for Napoleon's ships also carried scholars, scientists and artists whose task it was to study the country and its customs and document their findings for Napoleon. (Description de l'Égypte was the result of the collaboration of these prominent scholars, several famous European scientists, cartographers, topographers, and more than 160 artists and technicians. They accompanied Napoleon's army during Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798. Their goal was to methodically collect information in areas as widely varied as architecture, geography, botany and the humanities. Description de l'Égypte was published in 23 volumes from 1809 to 1828 and includes 900+ plates.) They were the biggest books ever produced in their day, and were made on a specially constructed press. The first volumes of engravings were presented to Napoleon in 1808. The beauty of engravings, and their very large formats makes Description de l'Égypte an exceptional work. The low number of copies made (~1000), its extremely high price, and very large physical size made the work accessible only to the very elite of society at that time. Even today, finding a complete copy is not easy. Only major libraries or state libraries are in the possession of such. Regions depicted/represented by the official plates in Dr. Freeman's collection are: Thebes, Karnak, El Kab, Medynet-Abou, Hypogees, Elethyia, Heptanomide, Beny-Hasan, Tentyris, Memnonium, Byban El Molouk, Latopolis, Ile de Philae, Edfou, Louqsor and much, much more...