Auction 93 Part 1 - Manuscripts, Prints and Engravings, Objects and Facsimiles, from the Gross Family Collection, and Private Collections
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Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum et Syriacum, by Johannes Cotovicus. Antwerp: Hieronymum Verdussium, 1619. Latin. First edition.
Description of a journey to Jerusalem and Syria (through Crete and Cyprus) taken by Jan van Cootwijk (Johannes Cotovicus), a jurist in the University of Utrecht.
Cotovicus, who visited Palestine in 1598, was the first to copy headstone inscriptions and wall inscriptions in Jerusalem (some of which since destroyed).
The book contains three engraved plates, a map of Palestine, and over 50 in-text illustrations, including maps, sketches and drawings of Jerusalem (a view of the city, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mount of Olives, and more), Jaffa, Rhodes, Cyprus, and other places.
[16] leaves, 518 pages, [9] leaves + [3] engraved plates, [1] map + p5[ text plates (folded). Approx. 23.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains and creases. Worming to first leaves. Map partly detached. Some tears to folded text plates. Fine vellum binding, worn and stained. Bookplate.
Other known copies of the present book feature a different title page (lacking printer's device, and with minor variations in typography). These copies lack the map of Palestine which exists in the present lot, and are bound with 8 additional index pages.
See item 240.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.376.
Guide for pilgrims to the Holy Land with instructions and advice for the pilgrims; description of the Christian holy sites, table of distances between the various sites, and more. Accompanied by numerous in-text woodcuts, including woodcuts depicting Jerusalem, the Temple, Bethlehem, Jericho, Nazareth and more.
192 pages. 15 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Marginal tears and open tears to a few leaves, mostly repaired with tape (with minimal damage to text). New parchment binding with decorative endpapers, slightly worn.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.369.
Walks in Palestine, by Henry A. Harper. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1888. English.
The book is divided into 24 chapters which deal with impressions from different sites in Palestine, such as orange groves in Jaffa, Jaffa Gate, Western Wall, Via Dolorosa, Rachel's Tomb, and more. Each chapter is accompanied by a photo–gravure by the photographer Cecil V. Shadbolt.
Copy from a limited edition, numbered 48/100 and bound in a vellum binding of good quality, embossed in gold. Top edge gilt.
Henry Andrew Harper (1835–1900) was a British artist well known for his paintings of the Orient. He was a member of the Palestine Exploration Fund committee and wrote a number of books about journeys in Palestine.
128 pp + [24] photo–gravure plates, 32.5 cm. Good condition. Foxing (some on the plates). Some minor marginal tears. Stains and blemishes to cover. Handwritten dedication in inner binding board.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, ALE.20.
“Theatrum Terrae Sanctae et Biblicarum Historiarum” by Christian van Adrichem. Cologne: Birckmannica, 1628 (print details on colophon). Latin.
Influential work by the Catholic priest and theologian Christian van Adrichem (1533–1585).
The work is widely regarded as one of the most important geographical pieces of literature on the Holy Land in recent history. The book, which took close to thirty years to compile, was only published posthumously, after its author had died. It was a groundbreaking achievement, laying the groundwork for mapmaking related to the Holy Land for roughly the next two centuries. The book comprises a dozen engraved maps, including nine maps laying out the territorial boundaries of the Twelve Tribes of Israel; a map of the Paran Desert (indicating the various way stations where the Children of Israel camped in the course of their travels from Egypt to the Promised Land); and two larger (folded) maps of particular significance, namely a map of Jerusalem, showing locations of the various gates and the well–known sites, as well as the earliest indication of its kind of the Via Dolorosa’s Fourteen Stations of the Cross; and a full map of the Holy Land, several different variations of which were published shortly thereafter by some of the most influential cartographers, such as Thomas Fuller, Nicolaes Visscher, Jan Jansson, and others. In the present copy, the right half of the map of the Holy Land is missing.
[5] ff., 286 pp., [15] ff. + [1] title page engraving and [12] engraved plates, approx. 37.5 cm. Good condition. Half of map of Holy Land (one of the two plates that make up the map) missing. Stains and wear. Minor worming holes to some leaves. Several notations in ink. Several engraved plates with tears to edges and to length of fold lines (some reinforced with strips of paper glued onto back). Binding with leather spine and corners, somewhat worn.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.410.
Situs Terrae Promissionis. S.S. Bibliorum intelligentiam exacte aperiens per Chr. Adrichom, map of Palestine by Christian van Adrichem. Hand–colored engraving. Amsterdam: Henrici Hondii, [1633?].
Map of Palestine on both sides of the Jordan River, depicting the territories of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The shoreline runs from Sidon in the north to Alexandria in the south. The upper part of the map is illustrated by decorative floral and vegetal motifs, underneath which appears a cartouche, held by two angels, containing a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy (Latin): "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills…" (8:7). At the bottom of the map appears a bar scale, a compass, and illustrations of Jonah and the fish, Moses and Aaron.
See Laor, 23.
Engraved map: approx. 55.5X46 cm (printed on two attached sheets; French text on verso). Frame: 66.5X55 cm. Good condition. Minor stains, mainly to verso. Matted (with stickers on verso). Framed.
Provenance: Private collection.
Blumen–Buch deß heiligen Lands Palestinae, so in drey Bücher abgetheil, by Elektus Zwinger. Munich: Johann Wilhelm Schell, 1661. German. Only edition.
Book based on the author's journey to Palestine and its surroundings. The book comprises three parts: the first is about Palestine, specifically Jerusalem; the second is on pilgrimages and important pilgrimage sites; the third discusses sites outside of Palestine (Tripoli, Rhodes, Malta, Sicily, and more).
With 18 engraved plates (some folded), including a map of Palestine (double plate); a map of Jerusalem; illustrations of Jaffa, the Mount of Olives and other sites; various plans; and more. Engraved title page.
[13] leaves, 660 pages, [35] leaves + [18] plates and [1] engraved title page (mounted on blank leaf at beginning of book). 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor wear. Minor worming to first and final leaves. One plate detached. Old inscriptions and ownership inscriptions. Fine, original leather over wooden boards, with embossed decorations; leather and metal clasps. Minor stains and defects to binding; one clasp lacking metal closure.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.371.
Jerusalem Explored, Being a Description of the Ancient and Modern City, with Numerous Illustrations Consisting of Views, Ground plans, and Sections, by Ermete Pierotti. London: Bell and Daldy, 1864. English. Two volumes.
This is the English translation of the significant scholarly work by Ermete Pierotti, an Italian engineer and archaeologist, which focuses on the city of Jerusalem.
The first volume contains Pierotti's text, and the second contains 63 plates, some folded, with lithographic prints of photographs and drawings, depicting, among other sites, Mount Zion, David's Tomb, Misgav Ladach Jewish Hospital, and Absalom Tomb, and including a large panorama of Jerusalem viewed from the Mount of Olives.
Pierotti worked in Jerusalem between 1854–1861. He was employed by the Ottoman governor of Jerusalem as a consultant in renovation projects of various religious sites in the city, which were inaccessible to Western researchers (in particular the Temple Mount and the Mosque), and served as engineer in other construction projects. When "Jerusalem Explored" was published, Pierotti faced accusations of plagiarism for not providing proper credit to the photographers whose photographs he used, among other allegations.
Two volumes. Vol. I: XII, [1], 339, [1] pp.; Vol. II: [4], [63] pp. + LXIII plates. 38 cm. Good condition. Stains, wear, and minor blemishes. Erased inscription on vol. I title page. Minor marginal tears to several leaves and plates. Bookplates in the inner covers. Wear, blemishes and abrasions to bindings and spines.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, ALE.64.
Eleven reference books, including some early editions, on the Bible and the Jewish people (some in full and some including only select chapters). Europe, 1681–1764. Latin with some Hebrew, and other languages (one book in Dutch).
Eleven books, mostly accompanied by maps, including many maps of Eretz Israel, Jerusalem, and maps with Hebrew names of places, and engravings depicting the Tabernacle utensils, Jewish customs, and more.
1. Geographia Sacra (Holy Geography), by Samuel Bochart. Frankfurt am Main: Johannis Davidis Zunneri (printed by Balthasaris Christophori Wustii), 1681. Latin and some Hebrew, NHB.373.
2–3. Two books by Johann Nicolai: Tractatus De Siglis Veterum – study on early seals, including Hebrew seals (Leiden: Abrahamum de Swart, 1703); Libri IV De Sepulchris Hebraeorum – study on Jewish burial rites (Leiden: Henricum Teering, 1706). Latin and some Hebrew. Bound together. NHB.367.
4. Kanaan en d'omleggende Landen, vertoont in een Woordenboek uit de H. Schrift en Josephus, geographic dictionary of sites mentioned in the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, and the writings of Josephus Flavius. Leeuwarden: François Halma, 1717. Dutch. NHB.381.
5. Apparatus Biblicus, by Bernard Lamy. Comprehensive study of the Bible and the history of the Jewish People. Venice: Laurentium Basilium, 1722. Latin. NHB.361.
6. Aphorismi, In Quibus Antiquitates Veterum Hebraeorum Brevissime Exhibentur, by János Tussai. Bern: Sumptibus Illustrissimae Reipublicae Bernensis, 1726. Latin and some Hebrew. NHB.202.
7. Dictionarium historicum, criticum, chronologicum, geographicum, et literale Sacrae Scripturae [historical, critical, chronological, geographical dictionary… of the Holy Scriptures], by Augustin Calmet. Augsburg: Philippi et Martini Veith, 1729. Latin. NHB.391.
8. Apparatus Chronologicus Et Geographicus, by Bernard Lamy. Venice: Balleoniana, 1735. Latin. NHB.380.
9. Sacri Iudaeorum Ritus Antiqui, by Johann Leonhard Reckenberger. Jena: viduae Ioh. Rudolphi Croekeri, 1740. Latin and some Hebrew. NHB.355.
10. Antiquitates sacrae veterum Hebraeorum, by Adriaan Reland. Utrecht: Ioannis Broedelet, 1741. Latin and some Hebrew. NHB.364.
11. Antiquitates Hebraicae, by Conrad Iken. Bremen: Gerhardi Wilhelmi Rumpii, 1764. Latin and some Hebrew. NHB.359.
Eleven books in 10 volumes (mostly with parchment bindings or bindings with leather spines). Sizes and conditions vary. The books were not thoroughly examined, and are being sold as is.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv.
Typus chorographicus, celebrium locorum in regno Iudae et Israhel, map of Palestine. Hand–colored engraving, from the atlas Terrarum Orbis Theatrum [Theater of the World], by Abraham Ortelius. [Antwerp: Officina Plantiniana, 1590 (engraving dated 1586)].
Map of Palestine on both sides of the Jordan River. The map depicts the central sites of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (after sketches by Tilemann Stella) and the territories of the Tribes of Israel. The shoreline runs between Beirut in the north to el–ʻArīsh (Rhinocorura) in the south. The Dead Sea is crescent shaped. On the lower right side and the upper left side of the map, Baroque–style decorated cartouches.
Latin text on verso: "Ivdaea et Israhel".
Maps (plate): approx. 35.5X46 cm. Frame: 50.5X61.5 cm. Good condition. Blemishes to frame.
See: Laor 546.
Provenance: Private collection.
Palaestinae sive totius Terrae Promissionis nova descriptio auctore Tilemanno Stella Sigenensi, map of Palestine. Hand–Colored Engraving, from the atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum [Theatre of the World], by Abraham Ortelius. [Antwerp, 1595]. Latin.
A map of Palestine showing both sides of the Jordan River (after Tilemann Stella), delineating the territories of the Twelve Tribes and the route of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan. The shoreline runs from Beirut to the Nile Delta. The Dead Sea is crescent–shaped.
A cartouche at the top left corner reads: "And thou shall remember all the way which the Lord thy G–d led thee these forty years in the wilderness…"; above the cartouche: "Deut. 8". Latin text on verso, captioned: "Palaestina".
Third variant of the Ortelius Palestine map (two other variants, with minor differences, were published in 1570 and 1579).
Engraved map: 34X45 cm (double spread sheet). Frame: 50.5X61.5 cm. Good condition.
See: Laor 541.
Provenance: Private collection.