Das Heilige Land, nach seiner ehemaligen und jetzigen geographischen Beschaffenheit [The Holy Land, according to its former and present geographical nature], by Joseph Schwartz. Frankfurt am Mein: J. Kaufmann, 1852. German and a little Hebrew. First German edition.
The German edition of the book "Tevuot HaAretz" by Joseph Schwartz (1804-1865), a scholar, geographer, painter and one of the first researchers of Palestine in Modern History. The book describes the geography of Palestine, its settlements, fauna, and flora, and more, and includes five lithographic plates: portrait of the author (facing the title page), illustrations of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs, a panorama of Jerusalem (folded plate) and a map of Palestine (folded plate).
The book "Tevuot HaAretz" was first published in 1845. In 1850 its English translation was published in Philadelphia, with Isaac Leeser's assistance, and two years later, its German translation was published in Frankfurt (the book before us). The book was translated into German by the author's nephew, Dr. Israel Schwartz. The German edition was used as learning material in Jewish schools in Germany, and Schwartz was decorated for it by Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph.
XIX, 452, 20 + [5] plates (two of them folded), 21.5 cm. Good condition. stains, including dampstains (some of them large. Many stains on the panorama of Jerusalem). Several small tears. Blemishes to the two folded plates. Restored tears to the map of Palestine. New binding and endpapers.