The Papyrus of Ani is the best preserved and the best illuminated of all the papyri which date from the second half of the XVIIIth Dynasty. Although it contains less than one-half of the chapters which are commonly assigned to that version, we may conclude that Ani's exalted official position as Chancellor of the ecclesiastical revenues and endowments of Abydos and Thebes would have ensured a selection of such chapters as would suffice for his spiritual welfare in the future life. We may therefore regard the Papyrus of Ani as typical of the funeral book in vogue among the Theban nobles of his time. E.A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was born in the English town of Cornwall. He developed an interest in linguistic study early in life and rose through the ranks at the British Museum. He was the Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities from 1894-1924. He is the author of several pioneering works on African and Asian language and culture.