Auction 60 Jewish and Israeli History and Culture
Mar 20, 2018 (Your local time)
Israel
 8 Ramban St. Jerusalem 9242209
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LOT 40:

Letter Handwritten and Signed by Charles Clermont-Ganneau - Sent to Charles Wilson - Paris, 1893

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Postcard with a letter handwritten and signed by French archeologist Charles Clermont-Ganneau, to the British engineer and archeologist Charles Wilson. Paris, 1893. French.
In his letter Clermont-Ganneau responds to an essay by Wilson on the Jordan River.
The French orientalist and archeologist Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau (1846-1923) was one of the prominent scholars of Palestine in the 19th century. Clermont-Ganneau arrived in Palestine in 1867 and worked as a translator at the French consulate in Jerusalem. During his stay in Jerusalem he studied and researched the archeological sites of Palestine, and with time gained a reputation as one of the important scholars of Biblical archeology in the country (among other things, for his contribution to the identification, research and restoration of the Mesha Stele). In the years 1873-1874 he headed the British archeological delegation to Palestine on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund, discovering the first three (out of thirteen) Gezer perimeter inscriptions (inscriptions carved into stone surfaces surrounding Tel Gezer). Later he took part in archeological excavations in Syria and the Red Sea, and in the years 1880-1882 served as the vice-consul in Jaffa. After completing his consular role he returned to Paris, where he studied Eastern languages.
The addressee, Charles Wilson (1836-1905) was a pioneer of modern Palestine studies and one of the leaders of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Wilson arrived in Palestine in 1863 at the head of a British team of engineers whose role it was to consult the Ottoman authorities regarding the improvement of sanitary conditions in Jerusalem. Wilson's first mission was the mapping of Jerusalem, following which he published a map that is considered the first modern map of Jerusalem. Later he was involved in mapping the area east of Mount Lebanon on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and took part in the survey of Sinai and in the research and preparation of a comprehensive, detailed map of Palestine (a project titled "From Dan to Beersheba" that produced 26 map sheets, accompanied by research volumes. Wilson edited the volumes on Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee).
14X9 cm. Good condition. Creases and light stains.
Provenance: Collection of Hermann Meyer and his daughter Channah Sapir.

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