The maps of Palestine that were part of the large-scale mapping of Egypt headed by Jacotin, Napoleon's head surveyor, in 1799, were the precursors of the accurate measured maps of Palestine, based on land surveys. The Laor Collection contains many important landmarks in the scientific mapping of the Holy Land, including, among others, the maps of Jacotin, Kiepert, Robinson, Van de Velde, as well as the more advanced maps produced by the Palestine Exploration Fund; maps made under the British mandate, and those made by the "Survey of Israel", the official mapping agency of the State of Israel.
Maps of Regions and Towns in the Holy Land
Although the city mapped most often was Jerusalem, map makers also made maps of other towns and areas which were significant in Christian tradition. The Laor Collection includes maps of these places such as Nazareth, Ramlah (Rama), Acre, Mt. Carmel, Mt. Tabor and others.
Hebrew Maps of the Land of Israel
The Laor Collection includes a significant number of maps representing the Jewish mapping tradition of the Land of Israel. Although the number of maps produced by Jews is much smaller than those created in the Christian world, these maps reflect the central place of the land in Jewish perception. The collection contains both maps that followed the independent tradition of Rashi like those of Eliah Mizrahi, the Vilna Gaon, and others which were influenced by the Christian mapping of the Holy Land like the maps of Abraham bar Yaacov.
