Rare military guide to Palestine, issued by the British military intelligence for use during the British Mandate. The present copy was stamped by the 1st Batallion Irish guards, which was stationed in Palestine after the Second World War to perform internal security duties there. The work offers a description of the history, government, population, topography, water resources, railways, climate, health, and trade of the country. Also included are a folding map of the Palestinian railways, and four folding tables with graphs about the weather. The first edition of the handbook was issued in April 1944. The present copy is the third and final edition, which was revised and brought up-to-date with the situation in May 1947. As the handbook was "restricted" and therefore likely published in limited numbers, any edition of it is very rare. We have only been able to find one other copy in sales records of the past hundred years, and WorldCat only records two copies in libraries.
With a blue stamp at the head of the front wrapper ("Captain, education officer, 1st Battalion Irish Guards"), and again at the foot of the first page. The edges and corners of the wrappers are somewhat scuffed. The leaves are slighty creased throughout, with brown stains on pp. 7-13 and 31, slightly affecting the text. Otherwise in good condition. Jisc (1 copy); WorldCat 1114861975 (2 copies).