The collection comprises photographic reproductions of two maps drawn by Louis Vignes, with assistance from Dr. Gustave Combe, during the Duc de Luynes's 1864 exploration of the Dead Sea region. Drawn to different scales, both maps are reproduced in four parts. The larger of the two maps, titled Carte du Wady Arabah et du cours du Wady el Jeib, covers the area now known as the Jordan Rift Valley. The area charted extends from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akabah. Drawn at a larger scale, although somewhat smaller in size, the second map titled Carte de la Palestine Méridionale et de la mer Morte, depicts the Dead Sea and its immediate vicinity.
In addition to tracing the expedition's routes, place names, elevations, vegetation, land conditions, natural features and many other geomorphic and climatic details are recorded on the maps. These sepia-toned maps were used to create the colored maps contained in the atlas to Voyage d'exploration à la mer Morte (1875), the official account of the expedition. They were published respectively as Carte du Wady Arabah et du cours du Wady el Jeib and Carte du cours inférieur du Jourdain, de la mer Morte et des régions qui l'avoisinet. The keys on the published maps are virtually identical to those in the photographs, although their placement is different. Whereas French place names are used on the original maps, on the published maps Arabic place names are given prominence over French place names, which sometimes appear in smaller, parenthetical lettering. Encampment dates on the original maps occasionally omit the month, while on the published versions the dates have been given in full. Additionally, the key on Cart du cours inférieur du Jourdain, de la mer Morte... mentions that some topographic details were borrowed from the map of the region made in 1854 by Dutch explorer C. W. M. van de Velde. This note confirms that the photographed map provides an unaltered record of the expedition’s original charting of the area.
