Bidspirit auction | (ISRAEL, LAND OF). JOWETT, WILLIAM.

(ISRAEL, LAND OF). JOWETT, WILLIAM. Christian Researches in Syria and the Holy Land in 1823 & 1824. In Furtherance of the Objects of the Church Missionary Society. Frontispiece folding map. Lightly foxed. Contemporary calf, rubbed. 8vo. Boston, Crocker and Brewster, 1826.  The work opens with a description of the numerous religious groups in the area, including Jews, Muslims, Druze, Ismailis, Yazidis and the varying Christian sects. The author then provides a travelogue containing references to previous explorers, such as Niebuhr.  Sites described include Deir al-Qamar, Beiteddine (”Ebtedin”) and its palace, Our Lady of Bzommar (”Ybzumar”), Aintoura, Tyre, Mount Carmel, the customary sites of Biblical interest (Galilee, Nazareth, Tiberias), and, of course, much of interest concerning Jerusalem, returning via Ein Yabrud and Nablus. The final section is authored by fellow-missionary and abolitionist Joseph Greaves, containing a description of his visit to Ottoman Tunis.  William Jowett (1787-1855) was the first Anglican cleric to be deployed abroad by the Church Missionary Society. Active in Malta, Syria and the Holy Land, he was involved in the production of the first Amharic Christian Bible.