Model of Jerusalem As It Now Is, […] executed and published […] by Edwin Smith. Sheffield, England, 1848.
A large topographic plaster model of Jerusalem and the mountains surrounding it. The model is painted by hand and placed in a wooden case.
At first, Edwin Smith made such models as an educational tool; however, before long, he realized that there was a demand for them outside the school as an object of religious, scientific and aesthetic value and he started making them for sale. Smith also exhibited a topographic model of Jerusalem at an exhibition in London. Among his clients were the widowed Queen Adelaide, the Anglican Church in Jerusalem and Lady Judith Montefiore.
Mounted on the corner of the model is a label with the details of the manufacturer, the scale and instructions, guiding the viewers to lower their eyes to the height of the model, "in order that the City and Environs may present the same foreshortened and natural appearances as beheld by a traveler on the spot".
33X28cm. Fair condition. A fracture all along the model, with loss of several pieces of plaster. Other losses of plaster. In a 35.5X31 cm wooden case. The sides of the case are partly detached from their base. Fractures to the lid of the case. Blemishes.