Ancient Egyptian artefacts continue to captivate school children and history buffs alike. This week archaeologists in Egypt celebrated the discovery of a brilliantly coloured mummy at Saqqara, just south of Cairo. This find may be exciting, but it cannot supplant the discovery in 1922 of the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings at Luxor as the archaeological sensation of the age.

Photographs of the tomb were published for the first time in The Times on February 21, 1923. The newspaper held exclusive worldwide rights to Harry Burton’s photographs documenting the excavations of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. After their publication, newspapers worldwide were clamouring for copies.

The power and impact of these images still remain, more than 80 years later. On Thursday, a complete set of the 142 photographs is being auctioned at the natural history, travel, atlases and maps sale at Sotheby’s in London.

The photographs, which narrowly escaped being thrown out as rubbish by their owner, have an estimate of £4,000 to £6,000, but could fetch much more.

Another tempting lot for people with an interest in Tutankhamun is Carter’s three-volume account of the tomb’s discovery. This first- edition set, which was signed by Carter, is expected to sell for between £800 and £1,200.

The set is part of a private collection of travel books owned by George Cosmatos, the Hollywood film director who died last month, aged 64. He is best known for his work on Rambo: First Blood Part II, starring Sylvester Stallone, and Tombstone, starring Kurt Russell.

His collection also includes first editions of books by Sir Richard Burton, the 19th- century writer well known for his explorations in the Middle East and Africa.

Another rarity is a first edition of Captain George Vancouver’s account of his Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, published in 1798, which could fetch £20,000. The epic journey included surveys of the northwest coast of America and the circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, which was named after him.

The Sotheby’s sale also includes a record of another historic expedition — a carbon copy typescript of the 1913 lecture by Commander Edward Evans which describes Captain Robert F. Scott’s second Antarctic expedition.

Evans was appointed second in command to Scott in 1910, but was forced by illness to turn back. Scott and four others died in 1912 on the walk back from the South Pole.

Evans’s lecture was a very important event and helped to endow Scott with national hero status. The lecture notes include 100 original photographs taken by Herbert Ponting during the expedition.

Richard Fattorini, of Sotheby’s, says that the lecture notes could sell for £10,000.

Another interesting lot is Leo Belgicus, a decorative, 17th-century map showing the “Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries”, set within an engraving of a lion. This rare example could attract bids of up to £25,000.

A further London sale that should interest both armchair travellers and seasoned explorers is the Bonhams travel and topographical picture sale on Tuesday. The star attraction is tipped to be Edward Lear’s oil painting Kangchenjunga from Darjeeling from his 1873 travels in India. The view of Kangchenjunga, one of the highest Himalayan peaks, is signed and dated 1877. The painting has an estimate of between £400,000 and £600,000.

The sale also includes a selection of works by Count Vittorio Preziosi, a Maltese artist, which show scenes of Constantinople in the 1850s.

Two further auctions include Dominic Winter’s sale of books, maps and ephemera in Swindon, also on Tuesday, and a travel and topography sale at Bloomsbury Auctions in London on May 19.