Lengthy, detailed, handwritten account of a journey over several weeks, from March 7 to April 10 [1855], to the Holy Land under Ottoman rule. English.
Handwritten travel diary of a prominent, well-connected American tourist whose name is unmentioned. The diary provides intriguing documentation of the early colonial period in the Holy Land, including meetings with consuls and with representatives of world powers, and meetings with travelers and other personalities who happened to be in the Holy Land at the time. It also includes descriptions of holy cities and sites (some of which were off-limits to Christians), and of local inhabitants and their lifestyles, and more.

The diary begins with the author relating his arrival by ship at the shores of the Holy Land: The "memorable morning when my feet first trod the soil of Judea! ... on the deck of the Germania this ancient city appeared beautifully resting upon the bold point commanding a fine view of the road-stead & of the Mediterranean". In an additional observation from that first day, the author gives his impressions of a meeting he had with American Vice Consul Jacob Serapion Murad, who dispatched his personal bodyguard to accompany the traveler on his way to Jerusalem.
Further on in the diary, the author gives a detailed account of his experiences on the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and thus provides a revealing picture of just what sort of journey this would have been in those days, including descriptions of the various way stations, encounters with local Bedouin nomads, and road tolls forcibly collected by various parties. He describes various sites, such as Absalom’s Pillar, Solomon’s Pools, the Hill of Evil Counsel (as it was identified at the time), and "the monastery that fell prey to the Muslims". He also paints a contemporary picture of the local forms of agriculture and of the nature – in particular, the flora – and the natural landscape of the land. But perhaps the most fascinating and important part of the diary – the description of Jerusalem – consists of observations made in the course of several days, and introduces some of the prominent figures and personalities active in the city at the time (some of them barely ever mentioned in other documents), individuals such as "Mr. Meshullam" (John Meshullam, an English Jewish convert to Christianity, one of the founders of the farming community of Artas, near Bethlehem); "Mrs. Cooper" (Caroline Cooper, who established the Anglican Mission’s girls’ school); "Mr. Graham" (presumably the photographer James Graham); "a Mr. Cresson, once a Quaker in Philadelphia, and now turned Jew" (Warder Cresson, later Michael Boaz Yisrael ben Abraham, who briefly served as the first US Consul to Jerusalem, prior to converting to Judaism); and others. This part of the diary also contains an interesting description of the Jewish converts to Christianity in the workshops of the Anglican Mission, including their occupations and appearance. Some entries describe visits to places and sites that Christians were forbidden from entering, or sites inaccessible to all visitors, for instance, a visit to the Tomb of David guided by a Bedouin child: "I was led into the mosque and at the furthest end I was pointed to a little window which was said to look into the tomb"; a tour of the Adullam Caves near Hebron, using a candle and string to mark the way in a place otherwise blanketed by complete darkness; and more.
On March 20, the author mentions preparations for the visit of the Duke of Brabant to Jerusalem. Taken together with other details from the diary, this reference indicates that the author’s visit to the Holy Land took place in 1855.
Parts of the diary describe the author’s journey beyond the boundaries of the Holy Land, to Egypt and Europe.

52 handwritten leaves. 18.5 cm. Diary leaves in good condition. Minor blemishes and tears to edges. Few stains. Leaves and gatherings detached in whole or in part. Front board detached. Parts of spine detached or missing.