Three volume set. Complete. Royal quarto (32 x 27 cm). Pp. x, 240 plus 10 steel-engraved plates; vi, 240 plus 12 steel-engraved plates; vi, 240 plus 11 steel-engraved plates and a double-page engraved map of Palestine, printed in orange and blue, with inset plan of Jerusalem. The total number of 33 plates includes four different steel-engraved frontispieces and four different, large steel-engraved title vignette, all printed on heavy paper bound-in, with tissue-guards. The three volumes are illustrated with a total of 429 wood-engraved illustrations, many of which are full-page, all with explanatory captions. Index to each volume. Titles printed in red and black. Hardcover, uniformly bound in the original publisher's richly decorated green cloth, gilt panelled and lettered, spine gilt, bevelled boards, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers. In about fine condition (occasionally some spotting; slight wear to spine ends.) A very handsome set, very well preserved. ~ Second edition, published in 3 volumes. It does not differ from the first edition, in four volumes, which was published in 1881. The publisher, James Virtue, seeking new marketing opportunities, substitute the line "In Four Volumes" with "In Three Volumes" and did not reissue the fourth volume, devoted to Sinai and Egypt. Other editions followed suit. Appleton of New York has published a two-volume version, rather crowded in comparison with the original, and indeed one that could not match the exceptionally fine, two large folios of the German edition that was published in 1833 under the direction of Georg Ebers and Hermann Guthe. Although it is Wilson who receives all the credit for this monumental work, it is the contribution of the authors whose work he edited that makes this 3-volume an opus of value. Distinguished Palestine explorers such as Canon Tristram, Charles Warren, M. Rogers, and notably Major Claude Reignier Conder, R.E. (1848-1910), as well as several others created the necessary balance between image and word. The superb steel engraved plates are printed here with fine, crisp detail, subtlety and elegance. Noteworthy are the artists who produced them. Most of the original paintings were made by J. D. Woodward and Harry Fenn. Born in England in 1838, Fenn came at the age of 18 to the United States where he has achieved great success as an illustrator of books, was one of the founders of the American Watercolor Society, and has been one of its exhibitors nearly every year since its organization. Some of his best work is contained in "Picturesque America," "Picturesque Europe," and "Picturesque Palestine". A keen traveller, Fenn has travelled extensively through the United States, Canada, Europe, Egypt, Palestine, and the Sinai Peninsula. Other artists include C. Werner and H. A. Harper. The engravings were executed by numerous outstanding craftsmen, noteworthy among them are C. Bertrand and E. Brandard. The numerous lovely and lively wood-engraved illustrations complete this celebration of word and image. A fine set. [Total weight: 10 kg]. [Descriptive text Copyright Librarium, The Hague]
