19th Century Photos of Jerusalem Now Digitized by New York Public Library

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)

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19th Century Photos of Jerusalem Now Digitized  by New York Public Library Posted: 03 Dec 2013  The digitizing of vintage photographs continues in archives and libraries around the world. Last year the New York Public Library digitized its photographic collections and posted them online. The photos in the Library's Dorot Jewish Division include hundreds of 19th Century pictures of Jerusalem and Palestine. Below we post several of the pictures taken in the first years of photography by pioneers such as Félix Bonfils and Auguste Salzmann. The images were captured by their early cameras while the region was under Turkish role, and years before World War I, the emergence of the Arab nationalist movement, Theodore Herzl's Zionist movement, and the creation of the State of Israel.  Rare picture of Jews at the Western Wall, with signature of Félix Bonfils (NYPL Digital Gallery,1894). Most early photos of this area were taken at ground level  and did not show the tiny area where Jews were permitted to pray.  Inside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. Other collections possess this photograph, but few are of similar  quality and clarity. (NYPL Digital Gallery, circa 1870). Another view of the inside of Jaffa Gate by Auguste Salzmann  (NYPL Digital Gallery, 1856) Damascus Gate by Auguste Salzmann (NYPL Digital Gallery, 1856)  Zion Gate, also known as David's Gate, by Salzmann  (NYPL Digital Gallery, 1856) Lions Gate, also known as St. Stephens Gate, by Salzmann  (NYPL Digital Gallery, 1856) Jews praying at the Western Wall by Robertson, Beato & Co. (NYPL Digital Gallery, 1857)  Click on photographs to enlarge.  Click on the captions to view the original pictures. Responsible Archivists Preserve Their Photographic Treasures