Picturesque Palestine I: Jerusalem, Judah and Ephraim

Of many works published by explorers of Palestine in the 19th century, none is as highly regarded as the lavishly illustrated and expertly written Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt.  Edited by Charles Wilson and published in four volumes in 1881, this work captures the essence of the biblical lands in word and drawing, showing both ancient sites and native customs. 

The descriptions of the regions were written by experts with an eye to presenting the land to those who would never have the opportunity to visit.  This first-ever electronic edition includes the entirety of the original Volume 1, including 10 steel engravings, 140 wood engravings and 238 pages of text.  Volume 1 includes these sections:
 

Jerusalem

by Charles Wilson

Bethlehem and the North of Judea

by Henry B. Tristram

The Mountains of Judah and Ephraim

by Claude Conder

Complete Book: The entire book is included in Adobe Acrobat format, as originally published.  This is the essence (and most difficult to reproduce) of this project and is most recommended.  The original publication is preserved exactly, with the original layout and pagination.  Thus any references to this work in other sources can be found on the same page as in the original.  In addition, the Acrobat file provides the user with the ability to search, copy text into other files, and print in high-resolution. 

The first 7 pages of the Jerusalem section are available here in either high resolution (as on CD; 3 MB) or low resolution (300 kb - faster download; not as high print quality; possible font error).
 

Jaffa Gate

The Images:  All images are high-resolution (1600 x 1200 or higher) jpeg files, ideal for projecting in a classroom, viewing on a monitor or printing.  Click on one of the images below to see a medium-resolution version.

Cost: $20; or get all 4 volumes for $75 (now: $55)

Guarantee: you will be satisfied or your money will be refunded.

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JERUSALEM. By COL. WILSON, R.E., C.B., F.R.S.
Situation of Jerusalem.—View from the Mount of Olives.—Walls and Gates of the City.—The Citadel.—Herod’s Palace.—Tower of David.—Tomb of David.—The Holy Sepulchre.—The “Holy Fire.”—The Via Dolorosa.—Markets, Bazaars, and Streets of Jerusalem.—The Temple Platform.—Excavations and Discoveries.—The Dome of the Rock.— Water Supply for the Temple.— Herod’s Temple.— Ancient Walls.— Garden of Gethsemane.—The Mount of Olives.—Church of the Ascension.—Bethphage.—Bethany.—Tomb of Lazarus.—The Road from Bethany to Jerusalem.—Siloam.—Cemeteries, Jewish, Christian, and Moslem.—Description of various kinds of Ancient Tombs.—Water Supply: Cisterns, Pools, and Aqueducts.—Population of Jerusalem.

Robinson's Arch

List of Illustrations on the CD

Jerusalem

000 Dome of the Rock, title page.jpg
000 Jerusalem from Mt Scopus, frontispiece.jpg
001 Jaffa Gate.jpg
003 Citadel entrance.jpg
004b Jerusalem from Mt of Olives.jpg
005 Tower of David.jpg
008 Mount of Olives.jpg
009 South Slope of Olivet.jpg
010 Zion Gate.jpg

Kidron Valley

Pilgrims buying candles

Bethlehem and North of Judah

122a Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem.jpg
124 Shepherds' Field, from Bethlehem.jpg
125 In the Shepherds' Field, Bethlehem.jpg
126 Rachel's Tomb.jpg
127 External Stairway of a House at Bethlehem.jpg
128 Chapel of Nativity, St Mary, Bethlehem.jpg
129 Peasant's Home, with Manger.jpg
131 Bethlehem, from southwest.jpg
133 Mother of Pearl workers of Bethlehem.jpg
134 David's Well.jpg
135 The Milk Grotto, Bethlehem.jpg
137a Herodium from Bethlehem.jpg
137b View from Herodium.jpg

Threshing grain

Mountains of Judah and Ephraim

193 Beit Ur Et Tahta, on site of Lower Beth Horon.jpg
195a View from ruins of mediaeval fortress, Latron.jpg
195b Valley of Ajalon, from west.jpg
198 Soba, from Jerusalem road.jpg
199 Kuryet El 'Anab, the Village of Grapes.jpg
200a Threshing corn.jpg
202 Kolonia, and Wady Beit Hanina.jpg
203 Mosque of the Fountain, 'Ain Karim.jpg
205 Franciscan Monastery, Church of St John at 'Ain Karim.jpg

Jacob's Well

"I just wanted to say thank you for putting together such a great tool like Picturesque Palestine; I used it quite a bit in [a recent] presentation. I wanted to show people the drastic difference between Israel now and then particularly in the area of Jerusalem. People, I think, still picture Jerusalem as they think it was in the first century. They ask me, "What was it like to 'see' the places that so much Biblical history happened?" Picturesque Palestine enables me to not only tell of the difference but also illustrate what I mean when I say, "It's not the same as it used to be." And while I know that 1880 AD is not the same as 27 AD, it is a whole lot closer to what it was like than what it is today."
--Kyle Patterson

 

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