Rare book of Holy Land pictures unearthed in York museum » Communities » 24dash.com

Books containing the first detailed colour pictures of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem to be published in the west have been unearthed at a museum.

A complete version of The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt And Nubia by David Roberts was found by volunteers at the Yorkshire Museum.

The six volume body of work was made into three books and the set is one of only 400 copies of the first edition ever made - with other copies having been owned by Queen Victoria and the Tsar of Russia.

The large books include hand-coloured lithographs of places throughout the Holy Land in 1838-39.

Andrew Morrison, Curator of Archaeology at the Museum, said: "The books are a truly fantastic find and it is great that they have been unearthed so close to Christmas.

"David Roberts was one of the first 'photo journalists' and his incredibly detailed paintings of the Middle East gave British society a fabulous insight into the everyday life of people in a world completely different from theirs.

"Complete copies of the first edition of these books are extremely rare because so few were published and also because many were often taken apart, so that the prints could be sold separately.

"We are delighted that the volunteers have found and recorded these complete volumes and they are a great asset to our library. "

The 240 hand-coloured lithographs in the books are taken from paintings by David Roberts (1796-1864) on his long and arduous journey around the Middle East.

Born in Edinburgh, Roberts was the first person to make the trip specifically to paint the Holy Land, with the intention of selling the images back in Britain.

His tour included trips to the most famous Christian sites such as the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth and the ancient city of Jerusalem.

His self-financed gamble proved to be a successful one, with many people wishing to purchase the books, including orders by Queen Victoria and the Tsar of Russia.

For the 1842 first edition Roberts insisted on reproducing the works on a large scale and in colour.

Louis Haghe, now regarded as one of the finest lithographers in history, created the illustrations based on Robert's paintings.

The books were hugely expensive to produce in their day, with only the very rich being able to afford them. A second edition, consisting of many more copies, was published in New York in 1855.

The books at the Museum were discovered by volunteers from the Yorkshire Philosophical Society who are currently re-cataloguing the library.

The society founded and built up the library and museum between 1822 and 1960, when it donated both to the City of York.

The books are not included in the last catalogue of the Library, printed in 1900, and contain no bookplates saying where they came from. The Museum and the Society now hope to track down the provenance of the books by studying the 14,000-strong handwritten list of accessions.