An added bit of information is that the author, the Reverend Alexander Keith, was an early supporter of the establishment of Jewish communities in the Holy Land. (Of course, he was expecting to convert them to his Scottish Presbyterianism, but he had to get them there first!) His travels there in the early to middle reaches of the nineteenth century describe a different land than most would know in the latter half of the century, once the immigration (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) got into full swing, and the territory was better off. Those were after Keith's days. He and his son were the first (in the 1840s) to photograph in the Holy Land as well, long before the Matson and Bonfils families were established in that business. His willingness to travel in times when it was not only uncomfortable but dangerous, in order to leave such an interesting record, is admirable.
There are a number of photographs from the early- to mid-twentieth centuries available online from the Library of Congress: a digitized presentation of the Matson Photo Service negative collection. The older photos show a lost world.
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An added bit of information is that the author, the Reverend Alexander Keith, was an early supporter of the establishment of Jewish communities in the Holy Land. (Of course, he was expecting to convert them to his Scottish Presbyterianism, but he had to get them there first!) His travels there in the early to middle reaches of the nineteenth century describe a different land than most would know in the latter half of the century, once the immigration (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) got into full swing, and the territory was better off. Those were after Keith's days. He and his son were the first (in the 1840s) to photograph in the Holy Land as well, long before the Matson and Bonfils families were established in that business. His willingness to travel in times when it was not only uncomfortable but dangerous, in order to leave such an interesting record, is admirable.
There are a number of photographs from the early- to mid-twentieth centuries available online from the Library of Congress: a digitized presentation of the Matson Photo Service negative collection. The older photos show a lost world.
Thanks! These photos are fascinating. I'm going to make a post with some of them.
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