Voyage de l'Arabie Pétrée, par Léon de Laborde et Linant, publié par Léon de Laborde

For at least ten years, until the publication of David Roberts's lithographs, Laborde's illustrations were the only graphic representation of Petra available in the western world. Laborde and his travelling companion Louis 'Linant Pasha' de Bellefonds set off for Petra from Cairo via Mt Sinai dressed as Bedouins.

First edition of "an important work" (Blackmer), extensively illustrated with lithographs, and including a lengthy introductory essay on different aspects of the region, including travel, pilgrim routes, and trade. In 1826 the 17-year-old de Laborde (1809-1869) travelled with his father across Asia Minor and Syria to Cairo, where he met the engineer Louis Linant de Bellefonds (1799-1883), then in the service of Muhammad 'Ali Pasha.

The two Frenchmen decided to set up an expedition to the site of Petra with a view to making drawings of the monuments there, and travelled by way of Suez and Mount Sinai in local dress. The Mamluk Sultan Baybars visited Petra towards the end of the 13th century, but no westerner visited the city until Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.

Burckhardt was followed by Irby and Mangles in 1817 but Laborde was the first traveller to spend enough time in the area in order to record his observations in the form of plans, views and maps, which remained the only visual representations of Petra available to Western scholars until Roberts's Holy Land (1842-5).

The introductory essay covers various aspects of the region, including trade, travel, and pilgrimage, with fascinating descriptions of the preparations for the journey, and descriptions of the travelling costumes and equipment.

Lithographic illustration on India paper mounted on the title, complete with 69 plates, one hand-colored, of views and maps mostly lithographs on India paper.

References:

Blackmer 929; Brunet III, 714; Nissen ZBI 2335; Vicaire IV, 758-9.