Hermann Reignanum: Das alte Megaris: Ein Beitrag zur Alterthumskunde Griechenlands Berlin 1825 First edition and first book devoted to Megara, in 8vo, contemporary hard boards slightly trimmed,text clean and bright, complete 184p.,two folded maps and a folding letterpress plate, the plate contain at its blank back additionally an extensive (around 700 words, clearly from a contemporary scholar ) manuscript text in German linking the references of the book with concrete places on the spot,in Megara,most probable from a German scientist who visited Megara in the late 1850s,several reference 1857 at the manuscript text, ex libris of G. Vogt dated 1856 at front past down with the same pen (most probable Gustav Vogt, 1829-1901, a Swiss German scholar),few more marginalia in the text from the same hand, extensive introduction by Carl Ritter,the German father of modern geography, overall in almost fine condition, a unique copy of a rare scientific book on Megara, the very first dealing with this area of Greece.The book cover Megaris — the small but strategically vital region between Attica and Corinth. He provides a detailed physical description of the land, explores the history of the city of Megara, its colonial expansion,notably the founding of Byzantium/Constantinople, and its legendary rivalry with Athens. It offers deep research into the ancient ports of Nisaea and Pegae. Unlike some travelogues that relied on hearsay, Reinganum cross-referenced every physical ruin with ancient texts from Pausanias, Strabo, and Thucydides. Reinganum was obsessed with getting the measurements and distances correct, correcting errors made by previous French and English travelers. Even though this is a dense academic work, its publication in 1825 was deeply political. At the time, German intellectuals were promoting the idea of the Greek spirit as the foundation of European culture and by publishing a reconstruction of an ancient Greek territory while that very land was a battlefield in the War of Independence, Reinganum was making a statement about the continuity of the Greek nation. A solid scientific Philhellenic book coupled with extensive manuscript notes from an other German scholar of mid 19th century, an extremely rare work