Jerusalem Explored – Ermete Pierotti – London, 1864 – Panorama of Jerusalem and Other Lithographs

Jerusalem Explored – Ermete Pierotti – London, 1864 – Panorama of Jerusalem and Other Lithographs
Jerusalem Explored, Being a Description of the Ancient and Modern City, with Numerous Illustrations Consisting of Views, Ground plans, and Sections, by Ermete Pierotti… Translated by Thomas George Bonney. London: Bell and Daldy, 1864. English. Two volumes.
English translation of the survey of Jerusalem by Italian engineer and archaeologist Ermete Pierotti. Volume I: text; Volume II: 63 plates, some folding, with lithographic prints of photographs and drawings (the photographs were taken by John Mendel Diness and others) depicting Mount Zion, David's Tomb, the Western Wall, the Tomb of Absalom and other sites; includes a large panorama of Jerusalem as seen from the Mount of Olives.
Italian archeologist and engineer Ermete Pierotti worked in Jerusalem between 1854 and 1861. He was employed by the Ottoman governor of Jerusalem to serve as architectural consultant on renovations of religious sites in the city, which were then closed to Western scholars (in particular sites on the Temple Mount) and worked as an architect and engineer in various construction projects. Upon publishing "Jerusalem Exposed" he was accused of plagiarism, one of the reasons being him taking credit for photographs that others had produced.
Vol. I: XII, 339, [1] pp. Vol. II: [4] leaves, [63] pp + LXIII plates. 38 cm. Gilt edges. Good-fair condition. Some stains. Minor blemishes to edges. Bookplate and ownership inscription in both volumes. The leaves in the second volume are detached one from the other and from the binding. Blemishes and wear to bindings.