James McDonald 1868 (ca) Ras Sufsafeh from north eastern extremity of the plain of Er Rahah. [Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai, Part III: Photographs, Volume 1]
In 1869, Sergeant James McDonald (1822-1885) accompanied a team of British army engineers on a five month trip to survey the Sinai Peninsula. The photographs McDonald took on this trip earned him a private audience with Queen Victoria, who 'expressed a wish to see the artist who had produced so many beautiful photographs of the Holy Land.' By this time, photography was an essential part of the mapping of land, which explains the detailed labelling of the images.
