“THE FIRST ACCURATE SURVEY AND MAP OF THE WHOLE OF THE SOUTHERN LEVANT WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER”: LARGE COLOR MAPS OF THE HOLY LAND WITH BIBLICAL LANDMARKS

(HOLY LAND) (PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND). Map of Western Palestine, from Surveys Conducted for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund… Special Edition Illustrating the Old Testament. WITH: Special Edition Illustrating the New Testament… London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1882. Two large folding lithographed maps printed in colors, each map sectioned into 24 sheets and mounted on linen in groups of four, each section backed with marbled paper, as issued. Each map housed in original black cloth-covered slipcase, gilt titles on front of each case. Housed together in a custom clamshell box.

Special editions of the Palestine Exploration Fund’s first major large-scale survey of Palestine, led by H.H. Kitchener in 1872-77, both at a scale of 3/8-inch to a mile, finely lithographed and printed in color, with some coloring added by hand. The first map has been marked to show important locales from the Old Testament; the second with locations found in the New Testament.

Charles Wilson’s 1864 survey of Jerusalem led to the formation of the Palestine Exploration Fund. The Survey of Western Palestine (1871-78) was conducted by among others, a young Lt. H.H. Kitchener of the Royal Engineers—later of Khartoum and World War One fame. “The Survey of Western Palestine was the first accurate survey and map of the whole of the southern Levant west of the Jordan River, and gave subsequent archaeologists, botanists, geologists and geographers valuable reference material. This was perhaps the Fund’s most ambitious and successful project of all” (pef.org.uk). The Survey’s Map of Western Palestine was originally issued in a very large scale, one inch to a mile, in 26 sections in 1880. The present maps, while still quite large, have been reduced from the original scale to 3/8-inch to a mile, and with important places from the Old Testament, the Apocrypha and Josephus’ histories marked on the first map, and important locales from the New Testament, the Talmud and Josephus’ histories (after the birth of Jesus) marked on the second map. A reduced-scale map, 3/8-inch/mile, was issued without the Biblical references in 1881. Bookplate of Darlington Friends’ Biblical Library on verso of first section of each map.

Bit of light rubbing to slipcases only. An excellent, crisp, clean set of these two scarce Biblical maps.