‘Mapping the Holy Land is a scholarly yet accessible work that presents for the first time a detailed account of the activities that gave rise to the first scientific maps of Palestine, in the nineteenth century. The authors examine the work of three major figures – Augustus Petermann, Charles Meredith van de Velde, and Edward Robinson – and the influence that German geographical thought of the period had upon them. Drawing upon recently discovered archival material, the authors have produced a work that will enrich and engage all those with an interest in the development of maps and the Holy Land.’ – Gideon Biger, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography and Human Environment, Tel Aviv University

‘This book by three authors who are experts in their fields of archival science, the history of cartography, historical geography, and cultural history, sets an exemplary standard for detailed research into archives which have been hitherto unexploited for their content as far as the mapping of the Holy Land in the nineteenth century is concerned. Much is revealed, not only of the map compilation methods and commercial map publishing practices of those times, but we also learn of the more elusive human stories behind what were the ground-breaking cartographic products of their time for this area. There is a cornucopia of new material here, which will be relevant to a readership that goes beyond the geographical limits of the Holy Land. This presentation of substantial original research into the major nineteenth-century German map publishers and mapmakers, and their associates, provides an inestimable service to all students of map history whatever their geographical focus. This book must rank as a major contribution to the subject of the history of cartography in general, as well as an essential reference for the mapping of the Holy Land in the nineteenth century in particular.’ – Dr Yolande Hodson, Formerly Honorary Secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund