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What are the advantages of the electronic
edition to the original works? 1. Search
capabilities. You can quickly search the
entire text to find a particular subject or
site of interest.
2. Useability. It is easy to print a
photograph in high quality, to copy a slide to
a PowerPoint presentation, and to copy a
portion of text into a separate file.
3. Price. The electronic works cost a
fraction of the original, rare volumes.
4. Availability. Some of these works
have not been published elsewhere, and others
are so rare that you can only view them in a
few university libraries around the world
(assuming they trust you).
5. Some of these works are large and
unwieldly. You have to clear the table
in order to open and view them. And
bookshelves have trouble accommodating large
volumes. The electronic edition is
easily viewed, transported, and stored.
What are the advantages of using older
pictures vs. newer pictures of biblical
places?
Well, if you're interested in the latest
and best color photographs of biblical sites,
we'd highly recommend the
Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.
But after we produced that, we realized
that something was missing. Or rather,
something was added. Modern photographs
often have cars, power lines, crowds, and lots
of modern construction. There are new
roads, tall hotels, and even, occasionally,
churches built on top of the ancient sites.
But by going back one hundred years or so, all
of that is erased. The sites are more
authentic, the peoples' customs more
traditional, and the ancient ways closer to
the surface. You don't get this only in
photos and drawings, but in text descriptions
as well. That is why a significant
portion of the Historic Views collection and
this website is the words of ancient
travelers. Put the picture and the
description together and you've just gone back
in time. Admittedly, 19th century
Palestine is not the same as 1st century
Judea, but it's a lot closer!
I like the electronic version, but I
would like to purchase the original books.
How can I do that?
First, not all of the volumes in the
collection have a corresponding "original
work." For some (both currently
available and forthcoming), this is the first
and only publication. Second, know that
the original works are usually very expensive.
For instance, the Survey of Western Palestine
Maps volume is nearly impossible to find.
We looked for it for about 5 years before
finding a copy for sale (which we bought for
about $3,000). In the years since then,
we've seen it for sale one other time (for
more). The Picturesque Palestine
4-volume collection is usually available, but
prices start at about $600 (you can check
prices at
addall.com ).
Are these photos and maps copyrighted?
Many of the volumes in the collection
derive from public domain works, but the
electronic edition, with its significant
improvements, is copyrighted. Creating
the electronic works has been a huge
investment of time and money and selling them
for a small charge makes the project
economically viable. For more
information about allowed uses, see the
copyright
and licensing pages.
What do the references to "Those Holy
Fields," "Galilee and the Jordan," and "Matson Collection" mean?
These are forthcoming volumes in the
Historic Views of the Holy Land series that
should be available in Summer 2007.
Photos from Eric G. Matson are in the public
domain and available
online from the Library of Congress, but
the Matson volumes in the Historic Views
series will have significant
improvements (that's why it's taking us so
long!).
What is the difference between the 8-CD
set and the 4-CD set with DVD?
In the 4-CD set with DVD, the Picturesque
Palestine DVD replaces the 4 Picturesque
Palestine CD volumes. The content is the
same, but they are offered in CD format for
those who don't have a DVD player on their
computer or who only want some of the volumes.
Is there a money-back guarantee on the
purchase of these volumes?
Yes, all of the products sold through this
site have a no-questions-asked, 100% refund
policy with no time limit. We are
certain that you will be satisfied that you
will be impressed, and if you aren't, you get
your money back.
What are some ways I can use these photographs
and illustrations?
There are countless ways. Since the Historic Views
collection provides
thousands of images in jpg format, they can easily be adjusted and incorporated
into nearly any type of project. They are perfect for teaching with
PowerPoint and using as backgrounds for Scripture texts. Other programs
are designed to lead you by the hand; this library is designed to be a tool to
be used in as many ways by as many different people as possible.
What are the minimum system requirements
to use the program?
You need a PC or a Mac with a CD-ROM and a video card and monitor that
supports 16-bit color. Nearly every computer made in the last 7 years will
work with no problem. Faster computers will obviously work faster with
these large graphics files. You don't need any additional programs in
order to view the pictures (several free viewers are included), but if you want
to do more than view them in PowerPoint, you'll need your own copy of PowerPoint
or the free OpenOffice. If you want
to manipulate the photos in a graphics program like Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, you'll need your own
copies of those programs.
Do the CDs work on a Mac?
Yes, but there are a few things to note. If the computer has
PowerPoint installed, all of those files will work normally. The jpg
images are also normal in every respect except that the long PC filename is
abbreviated in some versions of the Mac OS (10.2+ reads the names correctly). A few "extras" like the autorun html viewer do
not work because of the long filename issue.
How do you install the program?
There is no program to install. This is born out of a dislike for yet
another program modifying the registry and stealthily stealing resources in the
background. Furthermore, these CDs are designed to be tools; the
pictures are provided for you to use and manipulate in whatever program you like
(PowerPoint, Photoshop, etc.) Usually when pictures are packaged with an
"engine," it makes it difficult if not impossible to use the pictures
in another way (often this is by design). The intent of these CDs is to provide
pictures for use in countless ways.
Can you offer me a better price if I buy the
complete set?
Yes. The complete set of 8 CDs is available for
$119. If you buy it as part of the Ultimate Teaching Kit, the discount is
40% for everything.
Do you have a question that's not answered here?
Let
us know!
Last Revised:
January 04, 2008
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