The PEF "Survey of Western Palestine" headed by Claude Conder and Horatio Kitchener – Eight Volumes of Publications ...

The PEF "Survey of Western Palestine" headed by Claude Conder and Horatio Kitchener – Eight Volumes of Publications, and a Special Edition of the Survey Map, marked with Biblical Sites – First Edition, 1881-88
Eight volumes of the first edition of publications of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) survey of Western Palestine headed by Claude Conder and Horatio Kitchener, and a special edition of the survey map, marked with sites mentioned in the Bible, the Apocrypha, and the works of Flavius Josephus. London: The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1881-88. English, with some Arabic, Hebrew, and additional languages.
The Survey of Western Palestine was conducted between the years 1872 and 1877 by teams of researchers, surveyors, and British army personnel, all belonging to the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF), who completed – for the first time in the history of Palestine – a survey of virtually every acre of the land, from end to end, using modern surveying techniques. The survey enabled the publication of the Palestine Exploration Fund map (1880), one of the most important maps in the cartographic history of Palestine, regarded as the "mother of all modern maps" of the country, followed by the publication of an extensive series of volumes of studies documenting and detailing the finds and discoveries of the survey. These publications include three volumes listing each and every settlement, river, architectural structure, or hill identified by the surveyors; a single volume devoted to Jerusalem; a detailed survey of the fauna and flora; a comprehensive listing that includes thousands of place names in Arabic; and more. Most of the volumes also include numerous illustrations, maps, drawings, and plans (either on separate plates or in-text); some of these were colored by hand.
The present set includes eight volumes of the first edition, containing numerous plates and illustrations, some of them colored by hand. Seven volumes bear labels indicating "special edition"; these labels give the copy number – 234 – of the set, and are personally signed by James Glaisher, head of the PEF's executive committee. In addition to the eight volumes, this lot also includes a copy of the special edition of the survey map.
1-3. Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology, by C.R. Conder and H.H. Kitchener. Three volumes. Vol. I – Galilee: x, 420 pp. + [30] plates (one folding); Vol. II – Samaria: [1], vii, 455 pp. + [22] plates; Vol. III – Judaea: vii, 450 pp. + [21] plates.
4. Arabic and English Name Lists, listing thousands of Arabic names for places and sites, and Arabic inscriptions, along with transcriptions into English and explanatory comments by E.H. Palmer. 1881. [1], v, 438 pp.
5. Special Papers on Topography, Archaeology, Manners and Customs, Etc., by Charles Wilson and other authors. 1881. vii, [1], 362 pp.
6. Jerusalem, by Charles Warren and C.R. Conder. Volume devoted to a survey of Jerusalem. 1884. vii [i.e. ix], 542 pp. + [10] plates (one plate missing).
7. The Fauna and Flora of Palestine, by Henry Baker Tristram. Volume devoted to a survey of the fauna and flora. 1884. xxii, 455 pp. + xx pls (13 of them colored by hand).
8. A General Index, by H.C. Stewardson. 1888. [2], 164, [2] pp.
Eight volumes, approx. 28 cm. Condition varies.
Enclosed: An additional volume of PEF publications, from the second edition (this particular volume is missing from the present set): Memoir on the geology of Arabia Petrae, Palestine and adjoining districts, by Edward Hull. 1889.
9. Biblical edition of the survey map: Map of Western Palestine, from surveys conducted for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund … Special edition, illustrating the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and Josephus. London: Stanford's Geographical Establishment, 1882.
The survey map, marked with sites mentioned in the Bible and Apocrypha, and in the writings of Flavius Josephus.
Large map: Approx. 158X95 (divided into 30 separate sections), laid down on canvas, folded, and housed in original slipcase. Good condition. Minor stains. Blemishes to slipcase.