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 Jewish Hospital Misgav Ladach, 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. 37.5 cm. Half-leather bindings. Top edges gilt. Good overall condition. Volume I: stains to a few leaves. Creases and some small tears (mostly to margins of first and last leaves). A long tear to one leaf. Several leaves partly detached. Volume II: Stains. Small tears to edges of several leaves. Several leaves and plates detached or loose. Small wormholes to gutters of approx. ten first leaves (slightly affecting the panorama of Jerusalem). The volumes were fumigated. Blemishes and minor wear to bindings. The binding of the second volume is detached.