SCHWARZ, JOSEPH. Das Heilige Land

AUCTION 23 | Tuesday, March 30th, 2004 at 1:00

Hebrew Printed Books & Manuscripts from The Rare Book Room of the Jews College Library, London The Third Portion

Back to Catalogue Download Catalogue

<Previous Lot

/226

Next Lot>

Lot 150

(LAND OF ISRAEL)

SCHWARZ, JOSEPH. Das Heilige Land

FIRST GERMAN EDITION. Frontispiece portrait of the author, tinted illustrated plates of the Western Wall and Bethlehem (opposite p. 209), the Cave of Machpelah (opposite p. 240), folding panoramic view of Jerusalem, and folding map of the Holy Land prepared by the Author. German text with extensive use of Hebrew. pp. 19, (1, blank), 452, 20, (2). Institutional stamp on title, lightly foxed in places. Contemporary boards, spine distressed. 8vo Freimann 171; not in Blackmer

Frankfurt a/Main: J. Kaufmann 1852

Est: $1,500 - $2,000

PRICE REALIZED $1,500

German translation of Tevuath Ha’aretz (1845) prepared by the author’s nephew, Israel Schwarz. The book deals with the borders and division of the Holy Land (according to both biblical and rabbinic tradition), its topography, history, genealogy of inhabitants, botany, and climate - including incidents of earthquakes through history. Joseph Schwarz was born in Bavaria and immigrated to Jerusalem in 1833, whereupon he adopted the rituals and customs of the local Sephardic Jews. Following the appearance of this German edition, Schwarz revisited his native country in order to receive a decoration bestowed upon him by the Austrian Emperor. Schwarz is considered the first Jewish geographer of modern times. “[His] work is significant in that it became the basis and model for all subsequent Hebrew writing on Palestine exploration, taking Jewish sources into account.” Y. Ben-Arieh, The Rediscovery of the Holy Land in the Nineteenth Century (1979) pp.104-07.