Voyage depuis les sources du Jourdain jusqu'à la mer Rouge. Dépression du lac Asphaltite et d'une partie de la vallée du Jourdain

Rare first edition, printed in small numbers, of this Extrait du Bulletin de la Société de Géographie, 2e série, tome XI, illustrated with two folding plates showing topographical cross-sections of various valleys, including that of the Jordan (cf. Hage Chahine, 471; Numa Broc, Asie, pp. 28–29).

Half tan calf, smooth spine gilt-ruled and tooled, some rubbing to the spine, one joint restored at the head, green morocco lettering-piece, marbled boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges; a contemporary binding.

An orientalist and archaeologist, the Comte de Bertou explored Palestine in 1838 with the mission of verifying the hypothesis of an ancient outflow from the Dead Sea towards the Red Sea. Leaving Beirut on 2 March 1838, he reached Jerusalem via Nazareth and established the altitude of Jericho at –273 m and that of the Dead Sea at –406 m.

He then went on to Hebron and, despite the hostility of the Arab tribes, undertook to follow the depression linking the Asphaltite Lake with Aqaba. Bertou reached it on 8 April and, despite the destruction of his barometer, was able to confirm that the level of the Dead Sea lay well below that of the Red Sea. He returned to Beirut in May 1838 after visiting Petra and its celebrated monuments (cf. Numa Broc).