Sinai Photographed, or Contemporary Records of Israel in the Wilderness, by Charles Forster. London: Richard Bentley, 1862. English.

A study seeking to prove the veracity of the Exodus story according to numerous Nabatean inscriptions found in the Sinai Desert. The inscriptions were documented by French scholar Lottin de Laval during his voyage in the Sinai Desert and some were published in his book, Voyage dans la péninsule arabique du Sinai et l’Egypt moyenne (1855-1859). The author of the present study, Forster, focused on the inscriptions that, according to him, were written by the Israelites, and presented translations of these inscriptions that accord with the story of the Exodus as told in the Bible. Later scholars proved that Forster allowed himself much poetic license in their translation, and even drew farfetched conclusions without a sound basis.

The book contains 18 photographs of the castings that document the inscriptions (taken by photographer A. J. Brown), mounted on plates; a photographed portrait of the author; four lithographic plates of Sinai views; numerous reconstructions of inscriptions (according to castings prepared by Victor Lottin de Laval); the map of the Israelites journeys in the desert ("Transitus Israelitarum per Mare Rubrum"), after the book by Peter Goldschmidt (ca. 1711); and a facsimile of a letter received by the author from the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley.

One folded plate is presumably missing at the end of the volume (table with inscription).

XX, 352 pages + [1] engraves plate + [1] facsimile (letter). 34.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Some creases and minor blemishes to margins. Leaves and plates loose (some partly detached). Two ownership inscriptions to first page. Gilt binding, blemished and worn; tears to spine.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, ALE.10.