The Mummy 1932 "Scroll of Thoth"

Odin82

Sr Member
This post isn't probably much of interest to many here bar a few of the old classic Universal Horror fans, but easier to post it, rather than search back through 10 years of PMs to seek ye out for the ones that would be interested.

(Search the forum for the original Mummy, and all there is are two pictures of Karloff… kinda disappointing to be honest, knowing there are so many original Universal fans here that I've met through other sites! - "Hey, you should go to the RPF - I'm already there" etc.)

I've always wondered what the scroll was that was used in the 1932 film. I've kept an eye on the 1999 threads over the years hoping someone would identify it as a side-project, or even be mentioned. During this lockdown, spent a lot of time trying to match up the screen caps to any existing Egyptian scrolls. I've never been able to find an accurate replica of the scroll that was used in the film, or find a source. The main body is easy to identify, but the graphics on the left to make it screen accurate remained elusive.

Over the last month or so, I found myself comparing blurry hieroglyphics, and ****, even learning hieroglyphics (thank you TheDarkPope for your post from here: #4

Well, after some insomniac/drunken nights, it seems the original 1932 Scroll was "The Papyus of Hunefer". Anything with "The Papyrus of_________" referenced the scribe that copied the original part of the Book of the Dead, (e.g. The papyrus of Ani…. which is the reason it's hard to track things down, as Ani's version is the most popular.

Anyway, I've tracked down a full scroll end to end of The Papyrus of Hunefer, with the intention of getting it printed on papyrus, to display under my 1:1 Karloff Mummy Bust. When it arrives I will scan it in and upload it here. It's been pretty hard to find the full piece, impossible to be honest. (Pg. 3, 4, & 5 in the last thumbnail is what can be seen in the movie). If Universal Horror fans are interested, DM me or reply below at what res etc you'd prefer. Going to order it in colour and black and white. My 1:1 is a silver screen, so B&W is the way to go! (also any /r/datahoarders, thank you for the help in finding it, and hit me up for what res ye'd like too for your archives. Hope ye found this treasure trove of the RPF helpful for stuff to save.)

I have a makeshift scroll however in the meantime, that I saved from the British Museum where it was photographed, but since my Mac updated to Catalina… use of a working Photoshop is a long distant memory :/ (**** adobe). Those screens can be gotten from wiki easily for anyone that has photoshop, and may want to help out by going here: Category:Papyrus of Hunefer - Wikimedia Commons and resizing, colour balancing etc. I'd do it, except for Adobe being ********. :/ Anyone feeling generous and have some time to stick those 8 images together ? When I scan in the version I'm awaiting might be easier and more "fluid" than arranging 8 separate images of different sizes and res etc.

I really do hope this helps some of the Universal Horror fans.
 

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Cool find.
Hand painting it on real papyrus would be really cool, but very time consuming.

I have the Mobiues Mummy kit as well as a 1/6 resin kit (forget the maker)
 
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That's looking great man. I'm happy I posted now seeing that others are also interested. I think it would be a great addition to any classic horror fan's collection. Printed on some fabric / papyrus like material, aged, or even framed.

I'm sure even the 1999 fans would be interested in even adding it to their own books.
 
Odin82 - I am thinking I should make everything outside of the red border transparent, so when printed the fabric/papyrus pattern from the image is not printed over the actual fabric. What do you think?
 
If you are going to go so in depth to make an accurate replica, notice the second brown border along the top on the right side of the screen cap? Guess it was a production thing piecing two pieces together that weren't the same size of what they were working with (although the hieroglyphics all look the similar size.

But definitely a transparent background if ordering from a site that does some papyrus type of printing. I had intended on ordering a bunch of them on one large piece of material, and sell them, but selling things is just too much trouble when it's the hunt of identifying things from horror movies is what thrills me.

I ordered the pull out booklet from Amazon that has it all in one piece, but it's a pocket book. Was going to scan it in at a high res, and will upload it here when it arrives and I scan it. The Complete Book of The Dead of Hunefer: A Papyrus Pullout: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Parkinson: 9780714119946: Books Seems it was a pocket book that was sold about 20 years ago in the British Museum where it was on display.

Thing is, once I have a replica of the scroll made, next thing is the dagger!
 
What a great idea for a paper prop. I too have ruined my eyes trying to get a clear look at the movie
prop. I will be watching this thread with great interest.
 
JamesM242 WOW Dude that is terrific! Hot damn!

I received the book a couple of weeks ago, but my scanner is at work, and have no access to the workplace at the moment so I was waiting to scan the booklet version before posting.

But now seeing what you did, that is fantastic! Great work man!

I was doing research into scroll printing etc, but I couldn't find a place unfortunately.

Have to ask, how big was the .psd file you were working on? hahaha
 
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Two other Paper images from the movie also, can't remember where I saved them from, but I may as well post them here.
 

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Odin82 - thanks! I am glad you like it! The .psd file is 186.9MB. At 25 feet long, it will take a very specialized printer who can manage a job to get the scroll printed.

Thanks for sharing the other paper images, I will have to re-watch the film and keep an eye open for these.
 
Even the centre piece shown on screen with maybe a page to the left and right would be the best way to go. Would love to order them in a puzzle format!, 10 unique sets! Would take a couple of years!

For printing, custom wallpaper like on Spoonflower might be an option. Damn . . . that would be a great roll of wallpaper to decorate a room with!
 
After a quick google, just seeing there's a papyrus replica being sold here for $120 for only a small portion of it (albeit, the portion on screen) Papyrus - BOOK OF THE DEAD - Tut Roadshow Seem to be color differences though, and the 120USD price I don't know as I wouldn't be well informed on what prices papyrus documents should be (920mm long x 320mm high)

After it was acquired in 1852, there must have been some reproductions made for sale, so I'm assuming there are some out in the wild.
 
After a quick google, just seeing there's a papyrus replica being sold here for $120 for only a small portion of it (albeit, the portion on screen) Papyrus - BOOK OF THE DEAD - Tut Roadshow Seem to be color differences though, and the 120USD price I don't know as I wouldn't be well informed on what prices papyrus documents should be (920mm long x 320mm high)

After it was acquired in 1852, there must have been some reproductions made for sale, so I'm assuming there are some out in the wild.
My sister-in-law bought the very same papyrus when she visited Egypt over 20 years ago. She was visiting the pyramids and said there were stall all over the place selling copies of various papyri including this one and it came in various sizes as well,
 

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