Jerusalem [Old City].

$350

Cartographer(s): Herman Bollmann
Date: 1969
Place: Haifa
Dimensions: 56.5 x 70 cm (22.25 x 27.5 in.)
Condition Rating: VG+

In stock

SKU: NL-01944 Categories: , Tag:

A remarkable view of Jerusalem’s Old City, printed in metallic ink.

Details

This stunning 1969 bird’s eye view of the Old City of Jerusalem was prepared by German artist Hermann Bollman and published in Haifa, Israel by Wim Van Leer.

Oriented towards the north-northwest, the view focuses on the Old City of Jerusalem and its immediate surroundings. Every individual building is illustrated and many are labelled, including churches, synagogues, convents, gates, cemeteries, tombs, and more. The all-important Dome of the Rock, al-Aqsa Mosque, and Temple Mount appear at right. The border of the map includes an alphanumeric grid and the name of the city written out in multiple languages, including Hebrew and Arabic (as al-Quds).

Though no mention is made of the conflict, this map was published soon after the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israeli troops occupied East Jerusalem, including the Old City. After avoiding conflict in the area for weeks out of concern for damaging holy sites, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan suddenly changed direction and sent Israeli paratroopers to take the area in a lightning strike on June 7, 1967. They faced little resistance and Israel has occupied East Jerusalem and the Old City ever since. Incidentally, Wim Van Leer, who commissioned and published the map, was a philanthropist whose family trust promotes Arab-Israeli dialogue.

This is the first and only known edition of this view. Bollmann produced another, seemingly more common, horizontally-oriented view of Jerusalem that was published simultaneously by Wim Van Leer. Aside from orientation, the sizes of the two maps are slightly different and the present work, especially rare, is distinguished by the unusual and memorable application of metallic ink, giving it a sheen that cannot be reflected on a scan but which is apparent upon viewing it in person.

Cartographer(s):

Herman Bollmann

Herman Bollman was a German artist active in the early postwar period who produced three-dimensional bird’s eye views of cities. He is best known for his view of Midtown Manhattan, published in several editions in the early 1960s.

Condition Description

Some wear and creases along edge. Light handwritten annotations (pencil circling of the Golden Gate).

References

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