Camp of the Mecca Pilgrims Before Departure, Antique Print, 1776

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, a bird's eye plan of the camp of the pilgrims before they set out for Mecca. The caption reads in Dutch Légerplâats der Bédevaartreizigeren voor hun Vertrek naar Mékke. and in French Camp des Pélerins avant leur départ pour la Mekke., meaning camp of the pilgrims before their departure for Mecca.

A lake lettered Birket el hadsj curves along the top of the plate. Across the plain below, hundreds of small rectangles are set out in rows and clusters, the tents of the camp, with larger shaded rectangles among them and lines of open ground between. Letters A to F mark parts of the camp. A grove of palms fills the upper right corner, enclosed garden plots radiate from a point at the upper left beside the letter E, and more palms stand along the lower edge.

A compass sits at the lower left. The credit T. K. f. is lettered under the lower right corner, and the plate number Tab. XIV. is engraved upright along the right side of the border near the bottom.

The plate comes from the first volume of Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, the French translation of Carsten Niebuhr's account, its title page reading TOME PREMIER. Traduit de l'Allemand. A AMSTERDAM, chez S. J. BAALDE. A UTRECHT, chez J. VAN SCHOONHOVEN & COMP. MDCCLXXVI. Carsten Niebuhr (1733 to 1815) was a German born surveyor in Danish service and the only member of the Danish expedition to Arabia (1761 to 1767), sent by King Frederick V of Denmark, to return alive. The account was first published in German at Copenhagen; this is the French translation printed in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom and right edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners are present.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.