Collection of handwritten letters describing a journey in Palestine. November 1877. English.
The letters are addressed to a woman named Emma and are signed: "A. A. Roberts". Apparently the letters were written by a woman.
The first letter was written in Jaffa, and the writer tells about sailing from Port Said to Palestine (mentioning names of fellow travellers, most of them from the United States) and the various sites which she visited in Jaffa and the vicinity. Among others, the writer mentions an encounter with Rolla Floyd, representative of Thomas Cook Tourism Company in Palestine and one of the first tourist guides in Palestine.
All of the other letters were written in Mediterranean Hotel in Jerusalem. The writer tells in detail about her visit in Jerusalem, mainly in the Old City, while making many references to the Bible and the New Testament.
Most letters are written on special stationery produced by the antiquities dealer Moses Wilhelm Shapira in Jerusalem. On the upper part of the stationery paper are decorations printed in golden ink and small prints (photolithographic print, Ph. Frey & Co, in Germany) depicting sites in Palestine - Dome of the Rock, Western Wall, Valley of Yehoshafat, Nazareth, Tiberias, Hebron and more.
[9] leaves (sheets folded into two. Four written pages on each), 22 cm. Good condition. Some stains and creases. Small tears at folding lines.