POMPEII AND MAU
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Kelsey visited Pompeii in the summer of 1883 and again during a year's leave from Lake Forest in 1884–1885. In all probability it was during one of these visits that he met the German archaeologist August Mau.
Mau had been in Rome since 1872. He undertook an examination of Pompeii's wall paintings, a study that resulted in his Geschichte der decorativen Wandmalerei in Pompeji (1882). This book made Mau's name and still provides the starting point for any analysis of Roman wall painting.
Mau and Kelsey became good friends. Their friendship was marked by a long correspondence, by Mau's help in Michigan's acquisition of a collection of Latin inscriptions from Naples, and by a collaboration that resulted in Kelsey's translation and edition of Mau's Pompeji in Leben und Kunst (1900). Kelsey and his publisher worked so quickly that the English version of the book appeared before the German: Pompeii, Its Life and Art (Macmillan, 1899). The two scholars worked on a second edition, signing the preface at Pompeii on August 2, 1901. Kelsey was preparing a third edition at the time of his death. This book remains an important source and has recently been made available in electronic form.
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H. Roux Ainé, Herculanum et Pompeii (Paris, 1870). Two volumes of a set of eight. Personal copies of F. W. Kelsey. Kelsey Museum Library
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Pompeji in seinen Gebäuden, Alterthümern und Kunstwerken Dargestellt von Johnannes Overbeck im Verein mit August Mau durschgearbeitete und vermehrte Auflage (Leipzig, 1884) Personal copy of F. W. Kelsey with extensive marginal notes, Kelsey Museum Library
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August Mau, Pompeji in Leben und Kunst (Leipzig, 1908) Kelsey Museum Library
Kelsey's work with August Mau on the English edition of Mau's book on Pompeii marked the start of Kelsey's lifelong engagement with the archaeology of the site. The publication of Kelsey's English edition of Mau's book in 1899 resulted in invitations to lecture on Pompeii throughout the Unites States. Already in the mid-1890s Kelsey had begun to include archaeology alongside the classical authors in his teaching, but from now on it would play a larger role in his scholarly life.
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August Mau, trans. F. W. Kelsey, Pompeii, Its Life and Art (New York, 1899). This copy belonged to George R. Swain Bentley Historical Library, Kelsey Museum Papers
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August Mau, trans. F. W. Kelsey, Pompeii, Its Life and Art (New York, 1902)
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Copper printer's plate used for printing the illustrations for Kelsey's translation of Pompeii, Its Life and Art Kelsey Museum Archives
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Rubber printer's plates used for printing the illustrations for Kelsey's translation of Pompeii, Its Life and Art Kelsey Museum Archives
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Household Glycerine Soap box with additional printer's plates and the business card and advertisement of J. A. Topping and Company of Detroit Kelsey Museum Archives
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Francis Kelsey (left) and Mr. Lugue, Albergo del Sole, Pompeii, 1893 Kelsey Museum neg. Kelsey128
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Newspaper article Patricia Diel Arthur/Ruth Kelsey Diel Collection