| Plate I. Some specimens of rings | Frontispiece. |
| ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. | |
| Fig. | | PAGE |
| 1, 2. | Two jars of the First Dynasty, to illustrate the ancient method of sealing | 13 |
| 3, 4. | Complete jar neck, bearing the stamp of Amasis | 14 |
| 5-7. | Jars showing method of securing contents. (From paintings in the tombs at Beni Hasan) | 16 |
| 8. | A man sealing up a honey jar. (From a tomb at Abusîr) | 17 |
| 9. | A sealed jar. (From a painting in a tomb at Medûm) | 17 |
| 10. | A sealed bag. (From a painting in a tomb at Medûm) | 17 |
| 11. | Sealing of doors | 20 |
| 12. | Securing of folding doors | 21 |
| 13. | Sealing of boxes | 22 |
| 14. | A papyrus roll, tied up and sealed | 23 |
| 15. | The office of the Superintendent of the Seal | 35 |
| 16. | The working of the bow drill. (From the tomb of Rekhmara) | 42 |
| 17. | A mounted cylinder-seal. (In the Louvre) | 45 |
| 18. | A Cylinder-seal. (Figured in a tomb at Medûm) | 45 |
| 19. | Cylinder-seal. (Figured in a tomb at Sakkara) | 45 |
| 20. | An early cylinder-seal | 46 |
| 21. | A cylinder-seal bearing the name of Merŷ-ra. (In the collection of Mr. Piers) | 46 |
| 22. | A cylinder-seal of Amenemhat III | 47 |
| 23. | A cylinder-seal of Khŷan. (Cairo) | 47 |
| 24. | A cylinder-seal of Sen-mut. (Petrie Collection) | 47 |
| 25. | Impression from a cylinder-seal in the Berlin Museum | 49 |
| 26. | Impression from a cylinder-seal in the Berlin Museum | 50 |
| 27. | Cylinder-seal bearing personal name | 51 |
| 28. | Cylinder-seal bearing rude hieroglyphic inscriptions written in vertical columns | 52 |
| 29. | Royal seal of Narmer, predecessor of Mena, reproduced in outline | 53 |
| 30. | Royal seal of Zer, Mena’s successor; gives besides the name a figure of the monarch | 53 |
| 31. | Official cylinder-seal, with royal name | 55 |
| 32. | Official cylinder-seal bearing the name and titles of officials | 55 |
| 33. | Button-shaped seal | 56 |
| 34. | Hemi-cylinder seal | 56 |
| 35. | Button-shaped seal | 57 |
| 36. | Button-shaped seal | 57 |
| 37. | Button-shaped seal | 57 |
| 38. | Button-shaped seal | 57 |
| 39. | Button-shaped seal | 58 |
| 40. | Button-shaped seal | 58 |
| 41. | Button-shaped seal | 59 |
| 42. | Button-shaped seal | 59 |
| 43. | Button-shaped seal | 59 |
| 44. | Button-shaped seal | 59 |
| 45. | Button-shaped seal | 59 |
| 46. | Button-shaped seal | 59 |
| 47. | Hemi-cylinder seal | 60 |
| 48. | Hemi-cylinder seal | 60 |
| 49. | Hemi-cylinder seal | 60 |
| 50. | Hemi-cylinder seal | 60 |
| 51. | Hemi-cylinder seal | 60 |
| 52. | Clay stamp from the terramare of Montale in the Modenese | 61 |
| 53. | Scarab-shaped seal worn on the finger, attached by a piece of string | 62 |
| 54. | Scarab-shaped seal mounted as swivel to metal ring | 62 |
| 55. | Scarab-shaped seal enclosed in metal frame or funda | 62 |
| 56. | Scarab bearing the name of Mer-en-ra | 68 |
| 57. | Scarab bearing the names Thothmes III and Amenhetep II | 68 |
| 58. | Specimen of a Scarab-beetle (the real Scarabæus sacer) | 70 |
| 59. | Specimens of scarabs from El Mahasna | 70 |
| 60. | Specimen scarabs of the Twelfth Dynasty | 71 |
| 61. | Specimen scarabs of the Twelfth Dynasty | 71 |
| 62. | Specimen scarabs of the Twelfth Dynasty | 71 |
| 63. | Specimen scarabs of the Twelfth Dynasty | 71 |
| 64. | Specimen scarabs of the Thirteenth Dynasty | 72 |
| 65. | Specimen scarabs of the Hyksos Period | 72 |
| 66. | Specimen scarabs of the Hyksos Period | 72 |
| 67. | Specimen scarabs of the Hyksos Period | 72 |
| 68. | Specimen scarabs of the Hyksos Period | 73 |
| 69. | Specimen scarabs of the Hyksos Period | 73 |
| 70. | Specimen scarabs of the Early Eighteenth Dynasty | 73 |
| 71. | Specimen scarabs of the Early Eighteenth Dynasty | 73 |
| 72. | Specimen scarabs of the Early Eighteenth Dynasty | 74 |
| 73. | Specimen scarabs of the Middle Eighteenth Dynasty | 74 |
| 74. | Specimen scarabs of the Amenhetep III | 74 |
| 75. | Specimen scarabs of the Nineteenth Dynasty | 74 |
| 76. | Specimen scarabs of the Nineteenth Dynasty | 75 |
| 77. | Specimen scarabs of the Nineteenth Dynasty | 75 |
| 78. | Specimen scarabs of the Nineteenth Dynasty | 75 |
| 79. | Specimen scarabs of the Nineteenth Dynasty | 75 |
| 80. | Specimen scarabs of the Ethiopian dominion | 76 |
| 81. | Specimen scarabs of the Ethiopian dominion | 76 |
| 82. | Scarab of Usertsen I | 80 |
| 83. | A seal of the Twelfth Dynasty | 85 |
| 84. | A seal of the Eighteenth Dynasty | 85 |
| 85. | A seal of the Eleventh Dynasty | 86 |
| 86. | A seal of the Eleventh Dynasty | 86 |
| 87. | A seal bearing the name of King Mentuhetep | 87 |
| 88. | Specimen seals of the Eighteenth Dynasty | 87 |
| 89. | Specimen seals of the Eighteenth Dynasty | 87 |
| 90. | Specimen seals of the Eighteenth Dynasty | 87 |
| 91. | Specimen seals of the Eighteenth Dynasty | 87 |
| 92. | Specimen seals of the Eighteenth Dynasty | 87 |
| 93. | A seal bearing the name of King Amenemhat III | 88 |
| 94. | A stamp seal | 88 |
| 95. | A seal bearing the name of King Seqen-en-ra | 89 |
| 96. | A seal bearing the name of King Sa-Amen | 89 |
| 97. | A stamp seal | 89 |
| 98. | A seal bearing the name of King Thothmes III | 90 |
| 99. | A seal bearing the name of the Hyksos Period | 90 |
| 100. | A seal bearing the name of the Twelfth Dynasty | 90 |
| 101. | A seal bearing the name of the Twelfth Dynasty | 90 |
| 102. | A seal bearing the name of the Eighteenth Dynasty | 90 |
| 103. | A seal bearing the name of Rameses II | 90 |
| 104. | A seal of the Saïte Period | 91 |
| 105. | A seal of Thirtieth Dynasty | 91 |
| 106. | A seal of Nekhtenebo | 92 |
| 107. | A ring of Usertsen III | 93 |
| 108. | A ring of the Thirteenth Dynasty | 93 |
| 109. | A ring of the Thirteenth Dynasty | 93 |
| 110. | A ring of Thothmes III | 94 |
| 111. | A ring of the period of Akhenaten | 94 |
| 112. | A ring of the Twentieth Dynasty | 94 |
| 113. | A ring of the Twentieth Dynasty | 94 |
| 114. | A ring of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty | 95 |
| 115. | A ring of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty | 95 |
| 116. | A ring of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty | 95 |