Lot 149
India
Assorted manuscripts and notebooks, 19th-20th century
Auction: India in Ink: The Library of Dr Raj Krishna | 01 October 2026 from 10am | Lots 79 to 208
Description
Urdu manuscript. Ahval-i khulasah-i Banu Baygum mukhatab bihi Mumtaz Mahal ['Summary of events in the life of Banu Begum known as Mumtaz Mahal'], probably 19th century. 4to (24.4 x 16cm), 40 ff., in red and black ink, nasta'liq script, contemporary half leather binding with marbled sides, a few pencilled inscriptions in English including ‘The Residency, Lucknow, Sir Henry Lawrence’ to recto of first leaf, many leaves stuck together;
Sanskrit manuscript. ‘Harabali', probably 19th century. 4to (20.2 x 15.6cm), 25 ff., title in English to first leaf, the remaining text in Sanskrit, on blue paper, two-tone cloth binding, armorial bookplate of ‘Maharaja Tagore’s Private Library,' apparently from the collection of the Maharaja Bahadur Sir Jotindramohan Tagore (1831-1908), art collector, philanthropist and landowner;
Big-game hunting. 4to lined notebook (26 x 19cm), half leather, written in black ink on rectos and versos (187 pp.), with ownership inscription of J. Douglas, police inspector, Delhi, on front pastedown (initials J.A.D. written on fore-edge of textblock), journal recording big-game hunting (tigers and panthers) and shooting (ducks, grouse and pheasants) in India 1924-26, with index at front recording places visited (including Jamnagar, Rajkot, Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Bundi, Darjeeling, Bombay, Calcutta, Benares) as well as list of places visited at end, with numerous plant specimens laid in, along with a folded bifolium manuscript account of visit to the Taj Mahal in 1925 and printed list of European and Indian staff in government house, Delhi, leather on spine and corner tips mostly perished, hinges reinforced with buckram, internally clean;
Indian arms and armour. ‘Inventory of Indian Arms’. Small 4to lined notebook (22.8 x 17.3cm), early 20th century, cloth spine with marbled boards, c. 80 ff., with 18 watercolours of decorative Indian sword (tulwar) hilts, captioned in pencil, pasted or taped in to rectos, remaining leaves blank;
Indian history. Small 4to lined notebook (19.6 x 16.5cm), late 19th or early 20th century, half leather, c.100 ff., front of volume is partially paginated, written in black ink on rectos and versos by unknown hand, pp. 1-74 cover ‘Notes on the Greek & Roman accounts of India’ with extracts in English of various authors and texts, including: Dionysius Periegetes, Eustathius, Isidorus Characenus (Isodore of Charax), Scymnus of Chios, Plutarch, Agathemerus, Expositio totius mundi et gentium, Abulfeida, Tacitus' ‘Germania,’ rear of volume has a separately foliated (27ff.) section, written in black ink (rectos only) in a different hand to front section, consisting of an incomplete English summary of the German text of Indologist Leopold von Schroeders work ‘Indiens Literatur und Cultur in historischer Entwicklung,’ joints cracked with sellotape repairs, boards scuffed (5)
Provenance
INDIA IN INK: THE LIBRARY OF DR RAJ KRISHNA