Narcisse Berch Re 'le D Sert de Suez

Narcisse Berchère was commissioned by Ferdinand de Lesseps to make a visual record of the first phase of the construction of the Suez Canal. To this end he spent five months in the Isthmus from November 1861 to March 1862. He is said by his first biographer Bernard Prost to have completed an 'album' containing 68 plans drawings and watercolours. This 'album' was given by Berchère to Ferdinand de Lesseps who then presented it to Emperor Napoleon III via the Duc de Bassano. It was held at the Palais des Tuileries in Paris where it is believed to have perished when the Palace was burned down in 1871 at the time of the Commune.Fortunately Narcisse Berchère also gave a verbal account of his experiences in a book published by Jules Hetzel in 1863 Le Désert de Suez: cinq mois dans l'Isthme of which this is the first new edition. Professor Wright is Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin.