Plate 102 The Acropolis, lower end of the Valley, Petra - After David Roberts

This composition by David Roberts gives 'the central view of the City (Petra). On the right lie the ruins of the Triumphal Arch, whose site was near the brook, and fronting to the east. Its style is florid and corrupt. It seems to have formed the approach to the Palace, or pile of building in the centre, called by the Arabs Kusr Faron (Pharaoh's Castle)'. [1]
 
Writing in his journal on the 9th March 1839 Roberts said that the 'steam in this defile has originally been covered over, but the force of the torrent has torn up the pavement, and the luxuriant foliage of the trees and shrubs alomst chokes up the passge. About the middle there are the remains of a temple or gateway. Beyond this the road, following the course of the stream, opens to the mountains which at one time must have been cultivated to the very summits. The meadows are covered with wild-flowers, the groves filled with singing-birds. Partridges and wild-pigeons are plentiful, and on the high rocks are seen large white eagles'. [2]  Roberts clearly was impressed with the ancient views of Petra.
 
The drawings and watercolours from this sketching tour by David Roberts of the Holy Land and Egypt were collated together into folios and released over a seven year period between 1842 and 1849 by the publisher F.G. Moon from 20 Threadneedle Street London. This lithograph is an original First Edition version and was published on the 1st October 1848. Louis Haghe (the Belgian lithographer and friend of Roberts) oversaw and produced all of the lithographs for this series.
 
Medium: Original First Edition Lithograph, Full Plate, with later hand colouring on thick woven paper.
 
Full Plate 102.
 
Inscribed lower centre 'David Roberts', l.r. 'Lower end of the valley showing the acropolis, Petra March 9 1839', 33.5 x 53cm (picture size), mounted.
 
Condition report: generally in very good condition. There are a few very small pin head marks on the lithograph. There are three small white marks around the centre of the lithograph. There is a very faint pencil inscription in the bottom left hand-corner. Please see photographs. 
 
References:
 
[1] Nachman Ran (ed). The Holy Land. Studio Editions: London, 1989.
 
[2] David Roberts' Journal, 9th March 1839.