A STREET VENDOR

Around 1865, an Egyptian street vendor was captured in a photograph while selling mummies for huge money.

During the 1800s, the mummy sale business in Egypt was a booming trade, fueled by the Western world's fascination with ancient Egypt and its artifacts.

Egyptomania, or the obsession with all things Egyptian, had a significant impact on European culture, art, and fashion. The growing interest in Egyptology led many wealthy Europeans and Americans to collect Egyptian antiquities, including mummies, as exotic curiosities and status symbols.

As a result, a thriving black market for mummies and other ancient artifacts emerged in Egypt. Locals would rob tombs and sell the mummies to eager collectors. Often, mummies were also ground into powder and sold as "mummia," a substance believed to have medicinal properties.

The mummy sale business was so lucrative that sometimes fake mummies were created to meet demand.