The book includes wonderful examples of some international artists such as Eugene Fromentin, Camille Coruh, Narcissus Diaz, Johan Yunkind, Auguste Renoir and others, in addition to the works of great Egyptian plastic artists such as Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar, Adam Henein, Hamed Nada, Ragheb Ayyad, Jabhat Sri, Engy Aflatoun, Seif Wanly and others.
However, the most important feature of the book is that it is not limited to plastic works alone, but also includes some other holdings such as rare books and documents, where we read manuscripts by the hand of the great French poet Jean Cocteau, and three short plays by Tawfiq al-Hakim, in addition to writings by Naguib Mahfouz and Najib Sorour. The book also includes a chapter on ancient carpets and textiles, and another on rare sticks. Among the chapters that require stopping is this innovative chapter that includes artworks for non-plastic artists, where we get acquainted for the first time with paintings and drawings by novelist Edwar al-Kharrat, journalist writer Kamel Zuhairi and playwright Shawqi. Abdel Hakim, and among the artists Abdel Moneim Madbouly, Ahmed Mazhar, His Excellency Zayed and others.
The artist Farouk Hosni described the holdings in the book as “of distinct artistic and museum value, not only in quantity, but also in diversity and uniqueness.” The book takes its name from the writer Muhammad Salmawy’s word that tops the book, in which he says that “every work of art reflects the characteristics of the time and civilization that produced it, and that the artworks are memorabilia or memorabilia from those times and civilizations.”
