K.A.C. Creswell is considered the eminent pioneer in the scholarship of medieval Islamic architectural history. His two monumental publications, Early Muslim Architecture (vol. I, 1932 & vol. II, 1940) and Muslim Architecture of Egypt (vol. I, 1952 & vol. II, 1959) are the core of any good library on Islamic culture and remain today basic research tools in the field of medieval Islamic architecture.

Creswell has been credited with bringing a level of scholarship and quality to the field. Prior to his work, archaeological fieldwork consisted of drawing a reconstruction of the original plan of a monument. Creswell considered photography an essential part of recording the physical evidence. He took and printed his own photographs and paid attention to their quality.

Some of the buildings which Creswell photographed have since been demolished, destroyed or looted. Others have been significantly altered with restoration or rehabilitation. These photographs therefore provide an invaluable record for those interested in the history of the major monuments of the Islamic Middle East.