1900 Bird's Eye View of Holy Jerusalem. Jesus Weeping Over Jerusalem
DESCRIPTION
A magnificent and richly colored bird's-eye view of Jerusalem, presenting the Holy City from the Mount of Olives with its sacred sites, ancient walls, domes, churches, mosques, and densely built streets spread across the landscape.
Published in America around 1900, the panorama centers on the Temple Mount and the golden Dome of the Rock, while camel caravans and travelers animate the foreground. Above the city, the figure of Christ gazes toward Jerusalem, referencing the biblical account of Jesus weeping over the city.
The Sacred Geography of Jerusalem
The panorama was intended to be both decorative and informative. Numbers placed throughout the city correspond to a key below identifying 17 important locations, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mount Calvary, Russian Church, Mosque of Omar, Tower of David, Pool of Bethesda, Garden of Gethsemane, and other biblical and historic sites. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim landmarks appear within the same sweeping panorama, while the Eastern Wall, Golden Gate, Lion's Gate, and cemetery outside the walls are prominently depicted.
The view is particularly notable for its multilingual presentation. Across the sky, the large Greek title translates essentially as “General View of the Holy City of Jerusalem,” followed by the English title Bird's Eye View of Holy Jerusalem. Jesus Weeping Over Jerusalem. At lower right, the flowing script that initially resembles an artist's signature is actually an Arabic title for Jerusalem, retained from the earlier version of the image. The combination of Greek, English, and Arabic gives the panorama an unusual international character appropriate to a city sacred to several faiths.
From an Arab Immigrant in Boston to Rand McNally
The history behind the image is especially fascinating. The original panorama was produced around 1896 by Aece Hage, an Arab immigrant from Ottoman Syria living in Boston, who published an earlier version with titles in English, French, and Arabic. Around 1900 the image was acquired and revised by Rand McNally, which retained Hage's underlying view while adding the prominent figure of Jesus, the Greek title, and additional Christian sites. Rand McNally issued the revised panorama both independently and for organizations such as the Chapel of Our Lady of the Cedars of Mount Lebanon in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, connecting the print with the early Middle Eastern immigrant community in the United States.
A Scarce American Chromolithograph
Printed through the elaborate process of chromolithography, the panorama achieves its remarkable appearance through multiple layers of color, producing the deep greens, blues, golds, and warm stone tones that give the city exceptional visual depth. Surviving examples of this American Rand McNally version appear to be scarce, with only a small number located in institutional collections and the antiquarian market. Its unusual combination of Jerusalem imagery, American immigrant history, multilingual typography, religious iconography, and brilliant turn-of-the-century color printing makes this an exceptionally appealing view of the Holy City.
CONDITION
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622