This two-part collection offers nearly complete archival documentation of an expedition to the Holy Land undertaken by the visionary art collector, archaeologist, and scientist Honoré d'Albert, duc de Luynes in 1864. As the first systematic attempt to survey and photograph the geological features and cities of the Dead Sea basin in present-day Jordan, the expedition was among the most important scientific and archaeological missions of the 19th century.

Temple of Jupiter, Jerash, Jordan. Paper negative (left), Louis Vignes, 1864. Annotated photogravure (right), Charles Nègre, n.d. The Getty Research Institute

The duc de Luynes archive features glass and paper negatives, photogravures by artist and printmaker Charles Nègre, photographic materials by naval captain Louis Vignes, and travel accounts written by de Luynes and other members of the mission.

The 73 albumen prints from the second mission were taken by diplomat and photographer Henri Sauvaire, documenting segments of the ancient Roman road joining the Crusader castles of Kerak and Shawbak, and part of the road serving the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Travel notes and sketches from the duc de Luynes's 1864 exploratory mission to the Dead Sea, Petra, and the left bank of the Jordan river. The Getty Research Institute

The materials complement Louis Vignes's album Vues de Phénicie, de Judée, des pays de Moab et de Petra (Views of Phoenicia, Judea, Moab and Petra) and photographs of Beirut and Palmyra from the same mission, both held in the Getty Research Institute's special collections and featured in the online exhibition The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra. Together, these archival materials present a holistic record of a region seared by ethnic conflicts, divided today by the border wall between Israel and the West Bank.