In Cairo

In 1920, Creswell estimated his book to be about three volumes, about one thousand pages, and take about five years to prepare. Despite the calculated estimation, the task proved far more difficult that expected. Drawings in the archives of the Conservation Committee were to be at his disposal, but they were so inaccurate that he had to re-measure and plan every building himself. Therefore, the drawing, photography, and writing were his full responsibilities. In addition, renewal of archaeology in the Near East uncovered further important monuments essential for his book. So, by 1928 the estimate of written text increased to 1,260 pages in four volumes. The final version, however, included five tomes with 1,769 pages and was not completely published until 1969. Materials for a sixth volume, dealing with the last two centuries of Mamluk rule, were unfortunately incomplete at Creswell’s death.

These figures and dates are relevant because these volumes—divided in two, Early Muslim Architecture and The Muslim Architecture of Egypt—demonstrate how the work and research consumed Creswell’s like for close to 50 years.

Beside the tomes, Creswell finished another major work in 1961, The Bibliography of the Architecture, Arts, and Crafts of Islam. He began work on this book in 1912 before he had seen a single Islamic building and seeing ‘no prospect of being able to visit the East and study its architecture.’ This work illustrates Creswell’s innate bias for research methodology to construct a bibliography, in addition to having a passion for marshalling facts—drawing them up like a squad of soldiers dressed chronologically in line with no gaps permitted. This was built-in discipline inseparable from everything he did. It explains much of his character, his personal habits, and even appearance, as well as his style of scholarship. This drill of composing an expansive bibliography was indispensable for the ultimate success of his work.

The Bibliography was quite a formidable accomplishment. It represented, he tells us, the work of about three months a year for thirty-nine years. The number of books and articles recorded is about 12,300; of periodical volumes examined 11,749; and of authors indexed 4,620. He made it a rule, with rare exceptions, never to catalogue any item which he had not examined himself. A supplement appeared 1973, one year before his death.

Over and above these major works, sixty other items are listed in the bibliography of his work incorporated in a volume of Studies in Islamic Art and Architecture in honour of Professor K. A. C. Creswell, published in 1969 by the Center of Arabic Studies of the American University in Cairo.