"Haram Grounds &c.", architectural plan (or "floor plan") of the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. From the first British ordnance survey of Jerusalem led by Charles William Wilson. Printed on behalf of the "Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem", Southampton, 1865.

Detailed architectural plan of the area of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, including Latin transcriptions and English translations of the original Arabic names of the relevant sites. Created as part of the comprehensive survey of Jerusalem conducted by the British army. The sketch is divided into eight parts, all mounted onto a foldable linen cloth surface.

The "Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem", led by the British army engineer Charles William Wilson (1836-1905), was conducted in the years 1864-65. This was the first technical survey ever to be executed by British authorities outside English territory. Under its auspices, the first systematically measured and scientifically charted map of Jerusalem was prepared; the eponymous "Wilson’s Arch" was discovered and identified; and the subterranean architectural foundations of the Temple Mount (known in Arabic as "Al-Harem A-Sharif" – "the Noble Sanctuary") were mapped and documented. The survey’s findings provided the groundwork for the establishment of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) in 1865.

102X134.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, incl. minor dampstains. Wear.

Ierusalem, et suburbia eius, sicut tempore Christi floruit. [Cologne, 1588].

Hand-colored engraving, from the first Latin edition of volume IV of the city atlas Civitates Orbis Terrarum by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg. Latin text on verso: "Iervsalem vrbs Aitsingeri descriptione, illustrata".

The rarest of the three Jerusalem maps issued in Braun and Hogenberg’s atlas. An imaginative view of Jerusalem and its environs, featuring 270 numbered vignettes depicting sites and events – from the reign of David and Solomon to the Crucifixion – based on the Bible, the New Testament, and other sources.

This map is based on Christian van Adrichem’s 1584 map of Jerusalem, but unlike Adrichem’s horizontally oriented, east-facing format, the present version is vertically oriented and faces north.

Engraved map: 76.5X52 cm (printed on two joined sheets, leaves 58-59). Overall good condition. Minor tears and marginal wear. Handwritten notations to margins.

Laor 1041A.

Erster Abriß der Stadt Jerusalem, wie sie fürnemlich zur Zeit deß Herrn Christi beschaffen gewesen meistentheils genommen auß deß dem Tractat Christiani Adrichomij de Terra Sancta. [Nuremberg, ca. 1736].

Map of Jerusalem by August Christian Fleischmann (1687-1736), a reduced-scale version of Christian van Adrichem’s famous 1584 map. An imaginary view of Jerusalem and its surroundings, with 270 numbered vignettes illustrating biblical and historical events – from the reign of David and Solomon to the Crucifixion – drawn from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and other sources.

Engraved map: 43X52 cm (printed on two joined sheets; verso blank). Overall good condition. Minor stains and blemishes. Small hole to margin. Mounted.

See Laor 1022 (identical version with text on verso; Nuremberg, 1736).

Hierosolyma urbs sancta, Iudaeae, totiusque Orientis longe clarissima, qua amplitudine ac magnificentia hoc nostro aevo conspicua est. [Cologne: Aegidius Radeus, 1575].

Hand-colored engraving, from the first Latin edition of volume II of the city atlas Civitates Orbis Terrarum by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg (Cologne, 1575; vol. II, plate 54).

Bird’s-eye view of Jerusalem from the east.

While intended as a realistic depiction of the city – unlike earlier imaginary reconstructions – the map retains several conventional inaccuracies. Notably, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is depicted from the south, despite the ostensibly eastern orientation.

A legend at the corner identifies 48 sites in and around Jerusalem. At the top appears a Latin verse from Ezekiel: "This is Jerusalem; in the midst of the nations I have placed it, and around it are lands".

In the foreground appear five figures in Eastern attire. As Braun explains in the preface to vol. I of the atlas, the inclusion of human figures was intended to deter Turkish military use of the atlas, as Islamic law forbade representations of the human form.

Engraved map: approx. 39.5X42.5 cm (printed on two joined sheets; Latin text on verso of one sheet: Hierosolyma, plate 54). Overall good condition. Stains. Minor tears and marginal wear. Open tear to corner, reinforced with paper.

Laor 1040.

Konterfekt Swatého Města Geruzaléma [Image of the Holy City of Jerusalem], woodcut map of Jerusalem. [Prague, 1592]. Czech.

Imaginary bird’s-eye view of Jerusalem before its destruction, oriented from the east. The city is depicted as a rectangular enclosure with outer walls and gates, symmetrically divided into quarters by three interior walls. At center are the Temple and Mount Moriah, flanked by Mount Zion, city streets, and surrounding hills.

Woodcut from Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae, by Heinrich Bünting (Prague, 1592; pp. 44-45).

Woodcut map: 30.5X39 cm (printed on two joined sheets; Czech text on verso, pp. 43 and 46). Good-fair condition. Stains, light creases, and marginal tears.

Rare. Not listed in the National Library of Israel.

Laor 968B.