The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, after lithographs by Louis Haghe from drawings made on the spot by David Roberts, R.A. London: Day & Son, 1855-1856. English. Six parts in three volumes.

David Roberts' monumental work, The Holy Land – a copy of the first quarto edition. Six parts, comprising 248 lithographs after Roberts' drawings, and two engraved maps tracing his journeys throughout the Near East. The plates are accompanied by descriptive texts by George Croly and William Brockedon. The lithographs depict buildings, ruins, churches, mosques, cities, landscapes, and sacred sites throughout Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, Transjordan, and Egypt, serving as visual documentation of Roberts' travels in 1839-1840.

The publication of The Holy Land was a project unprecedented in the history of printing – hundreds of views of the Holy Land, issued in full folio format (approx. 60 cm), prepared under Roberts' supervision by leading lithographers of the time (see previous lot). The completion of the project spanned nearly a decade, and was financed by advance subscribers including Queen Victoria, the Austrian Emperor, the Russian Tsar, the Kings of France and Prussia, and the Archbishops of York and Canterbury.

The immense size of the folio edition, as well as the scope of the work, provoked criticism among some readers, who complained of its impracticality. The scholar Titus Tobler, for instance, remarked that "the work is so heavy that in order to deliver it my house, three hours away, the volumes were divided into two separate loads. It was thus possible for me to study this inconvenient thing at leisure" (Titus Tobler, Bibliographia geographica Palaestinae, Leipzig, 1867, p. 229, German). As a result, the publishers decided to issue a more manageable edition in quarto format, begun in 1855 and completed in 1856 – the present edition.

Six parts in three volumes (original bindings): Vol. I (Parts I-II): [3] leaves, 35 pages, [23] leaves + plates 1-44; [1] leaf, 3 pages, [22] leaves + plates 45-87. Vol. II (Parts III-IV): [1] leaf, 3 pages, [19] leaves + plates 88-125; [1] leaf, 9 pages, [22] leaves + plates 126-168. Vol. III (Parts V-VI): [23] leaves + plates 169-212; [20] leaves + plates 213-250. 29 cm. Gilt edges. Overall good condition. Stains, creases and minor wear. Several leaves and plates detached. Bindings rubbed, with minor wear.