Terre sainte, Égypte et Nubie

On 31 August 1838, the Scottish painter David Roberts (1796–1864) set sail for Alexandria. He travelled along the Nile, visiting its great ancient sites from Giza to Abu Simbel via Luxor, then set off for Syria, passing through Petra and Jerusalem, before returning to England via Beirut.

From this long, eleven-month journey, he brought back 272 watercolours which confirmed his talent as a draughtsman and his insatiable curiosity about these foreign landscapes and their heritage treasures. These lithographed works gave rise to one of the most prestigious publishing ventures of the nineteenth century: between 1842 and 1849, six folio-sized volumes were published, comprising 247 colour plates accompanied by texts by William Brockedon and George Croly. The quality of the lithographs, which remarkably preserve the nuances and freshness of the original watercolour hues, ensured the publication’s immense success and cemented Roberts’s worldwide reputation.

This edition faithfully reproduces this monumental pictorial travelogue, accompanied by the complete texts translated into French. This unique bibliophile’s edition bears witness to the fervent fascination with the East that inspired nineteenth-century artists, of whom David Roberts is one of the most illustrious figures.