[RUSSIAN GUIDE TO THE HOLY LAND BY THE IMPERIAL ORTHODOX PALESTINE SOCIETY (IOPS)] ???????????? ?? ????????? ?? ??????????, ?????? ????? ? ??????? ????????? ??????? : ?? ?????????, ???????? ?????? ? ??????? ?????????? / Putevoditel' v' Palestinu po Ierusalimu, Svatoj Zemle i drugim' sva^tyna^m' Vostoka: s' risunkami, doroznoj kartoj i planom' Ierusalima [i.e., Guide to Palestine and Jerusalem, the Holy Land and other shrines of the East, with drawings, road map and plan of Jerusalem].

Odessa: Izdatelstvo Afonskago sv. Andreevskago Skita., [1890], 1890. 1st Edition . Leather. Very Good. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Contemporary quarter brown calf, six raised bands to spine, new cloth labels including gilt title and date with place on second and fourth compartments. 4to. (26 x 20 cm). In Russian. vi, 601, ii p., 29 unnumbered engraved plates of 33, decorated head titles, one folded map of Jerusalem of 2. Stains on boards, lacking title page, one folded map (Palestine, Second of 2), and four engraved plates are missing, notes in ink on recto of the first illustrated page, age toning and foxing on pages, and new black endpapers. Else, a poor/fair reading copy. Extremely rare first edition of this Russian guide to the Holy Land prepared by the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), founded in 1882 to deal with the needs of pilgrims in the Holy Land in the second half of the 19th century by an anonymous Russian pilgrim as it's stated at the end of the introduction. Engravings of the book were signed by Efim Fesenko, who was one of the first in Ukraine to publish books for readers from among the people. The printing house printed a wide variety of products: books - from luxurious publications to brochures, icons, small images, and lined notebooks. In addition, Efim Fesenko published a lot of Ukrainian literature, and after the revolution, banknotes of the Ukrainian People's Republic were printed in his printing house. He was a native of the Chernihiv Cossacks, and in 1869 he walked to Odesa to work. Here, thanks to his hard work, he succeeded, and in 1883 he was able to open his own printing house. Already in 1893, Efim Fesenko was recognized as an exemplary printer in the south of Russia, and his company was known even outside the empire. Four years later, at the Milan World Exhibition, Fesenko received the first prize for the lithographs presented. In total, the printing house has received four international awards. The book provides detailed information to the Pilgrims on many issues, from passport procedures to ship tickets, from horseback travel to accommodation in Russian buildings affiliated with the organization, during the Pilgrimage from Odessa to Constantinople, from there to Jaffa and the Holy Land. "During the journey on the ship pilgrims could take advantage of the food, according to the tickets they bought. Pilgrims of the first and second classes received meals in common canteens at the appointed time. For a full daily meal, consisting of morning tea, breakfast, lunch, and evening tea, it was charged: in the first class, 10 franks (3 rubles 75 kopecks), in the second class 8 franks (or 3 rubles). Steamships sailing from Odessa, as a rule, on the way visited Constantinople. During the pilgrimage the pilgrims were sent ashore to rest on the monasteries of Athos monasteries: Panteleimonovsky, Andreevsky, and Ilyinsky, whose monks went to each arriving ship, paying for the return trip of 20 kopecks. Pilgrims coming from Sevastopol and Batum, awaiting the arrival of a steamer from Odesa, going to Jaffa or Athos, had to go ashore and stop at one of the above-mentioned compounds. They were provided with housing and food and tea, for which, like in Odessa, there was no fixed fee, each pilgrim donated a will. Under the guise of the monks of Mount Athos, other persons often abused "collecting donations" and therefore the pilgrims were instructed first to find out from which monastery the monks or novices were expelled. Usually, steamboats stood no more than 1.5 days in Constantinople and the most zealous pilgrims managed to visit the shrines of Constantinople: St. Sophia, the patriarchate, where the relics of Solomon, the mother of the Maccabees, the chair of St. John Chrysostom, Vlaherna, where there was a vision of St. Andrew, Christ for the sake of the holy fool, the Intercession of the Mother of God and Balukley with a sacred source. These pilgrimages were carried out accompanied by the monks of the compounds or with the guides recommended by the heads of the compounds, otherwise, the pilgrims could be subjected to t