12mo. Volume I: 224 p., [2] / Volume II: 219 pp., half-titles, (NO ATLAS), original half-calf with marbled boards, slightly rubbed, title gilt on spine, marbled endpapers, inscription on half-title page, small label verso front cover, otherwise copy in very good condition, Pouget-Coulon, Douniol, Maillet-Schmitz, Paris, second edition, 1858.

Synopsis

First edition appeared in 1838, this is the second abridged edition. De Saulcy 1807-1880, was a numismatist and archaeologist especially interested in oriental epigraphy. In the winter of 1850-51 he travelled to Palestine with Eduard Delessert , J.H. Michon, and the artists Leon Belly and Loysel. Gustave de Rothschild, a friend of Delessert, Joined the group in Jerusalem with his retinue. De Saulcy’s main object was to explore the shores of the Dead Sea; he was one of the first to study with method the historical geography of this area. De Saulcy believed he had found the tombs of the Kings of Israel and offered a sarcophagus which he called that of ‘David’ to the Louvre. These claims aroused a storm of controversy among French scientists. De Saulcy’s very important collection of coins and medals is now in the possession of the Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris.
The parts are as follows: Cosson & Kralik : Catalogue des plantes observées en Syrie et Palestine de décembre 1850 à avril 1854. Reiche : Catalogue des espèces d’ insectes coléoptères recueillies par – – pendant son voyage en Orient. Bourguignat : Saulcy travelled with E. Delessert, J. H. Michon, botanist, L. Belly and L. Loysel
Bibliographic references: Tobler p. 180-1; Röhricht p. 442-5; Riant 1673; Blackmer, 262-5; Weber I, 464-5.