Photographic Panorama of Jerusalem, 1965 - Intelligence Branch of the IDF Central Command

Photographic Panorama of Jerusalem, 1965 - Intelligence Branch of the IDF Central Command
Photographic panorama of Jerusalem, taken from a position at the top of the steeple of Notre Dame Church. Prepared by the Intelligence Branch of the IDF’s Central Command. Jerusalem, [1965].
Ten large photographs, each mounted on a wooden board, which when connected create an especially and uncommonly broad continuous panorama (28X365 cm) of East Jerusalem, including the Old City, Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus and more. The ten photographs are numbered, with each additionally annotated with the names of central and strategic sites.
This panorama was produced as a classified military document, in order to facilitate the observation, tracking and reporting by Central Command intelligence personnel of information regarding the activities of the Jordanian Army in the Eastern part of the then still-divided Jerusalem, for the IDF’s operational needs during the period preceding the Six-Day War. It is likely that circa twenty copies of the panorama were produced, most in a small format for easy carrying. Only a small number were produced in a large format, including the present one.
The ten boards are contained in a custom wood box. Attached to the top of the box is a small copper plate engraved with a Hebrew dedication: "To Lt. Col. Zehavi, with appreciation, from the Engineer Corps, Tel HaShomer." Lt. Col. Menachem Zehavi served in the Central Command Maintenance Corps during the 1960s and received the panorama as a gift from the Engineer Corps HQ based in Tel HaShomer.
Box: 31X45 cm. Ten plates ca. 28X37 cm (two plates shorter than the others). Condition varies. Good-fair overall condition. Stains, light scratches and peeling. Minor peeling on three plates.