He is, together with Louis De Clercq [fr], the most important photographer from the time of calotype whose work is not defined by Egyptology.
In 1853 Salzmann applied for a government assignment for researching the buildings of the Knights Hospitaller from the Island of Rhodes.
The most prominent images from his photo book Jerusalem, which includes a total of 174 photographs, are without doubt the depictions of architecture details and the excavation findings.
Salzmann's images are aesthetically richer when compared, from today's perspective, to the classical approach of his contemporary, Maxime Du Camp.
Less of a commercial success than Du Camp's book, it was mainly targeting an archaeologically interested public whose curiosity in such topics had substantially decreased lately.