Tombeau de Rachel – Rachel’s Tomb by Felix Bonfils ca. 1870

This is an original vintage Albumen print on a thin sheet of paper with sepia color and slightly glossy surface, signed in the negative (within a red circle). Rachel’s tomb is a well-recognized site in the Holy Land. Many artists have painted it and photographed it. This building is attributed to Rachel’s tomb for many hundreds of years following the story of her death in Genesis 35:16-20 “…Thus Rachel died; and she was buried on the road to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a memorial stone on her grave, and the same monument marks Rachel's grave to this day.” In this picture we see the main road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (The man and donkey are on this road), the domed building which was built over Rachel’s tomb, and in the background the village of Beit Jalla. This photograph is documented in the list of Felix Bonfils Photographs ("Die Provincia Arabia"), in the Department of Rare Books, Princeton University Library, Box 9, File 21, and Photograph No. 336. (http://libweb2.princeton.edu/rbsc2/aids/msslist/maindex.htm). Size: 28 X 22 cm (11 x 8.5 inches). The prolific photographer F?lix Bonfils was born on 8 March 1831 in France. In 1867, he moved to Beirut with his wife Lydie (b. 1837), and son Adrien (b. 1861) and set up a photographic studio. Bonfils published many albums focusing on specific regions or themes from various sites along the eastern Mediterranean. Bonfils died in 1885.