Jacob, Violet
India, 1895-1900
£1,875
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 22 September 2021 at 11:00 BST
Description
album, green cloth gilt with 'India 1895-1900 V.J.' stamped to the upper cover, 37 x 26cm, containing 18 watercolour sketches, mostly laid-in, with manuscript captions, showing Indian scenery with some depictions of local people
Footnote
Note: Violet Jacob, neé Kennedy-Erskine, (September 1863 - September 1946) was a Scottish writer. Most often known for her novel, "Flemington", Jacob was also a Scots poet, described by Hugh MacDiarmid as "the most considerable of contemporary vernacular poets." Her poem, "The Wild Geese", has frequently been set to music as the Scottish folk song "Norland Wind". Boasting an impressive family history - one of her maternal great-grandfathers was King William IV - Jacob was raised around Montrose, writing in the Angus dialect and setting much of her work in the area.
The collection of sketch albums here were predominantly created during Jacob's travels in India, with her husband, Arthur Otway Jacob, an Irish officer serving in the British Army. They demonstrate skill in both botanical and landscape illustration, and seem to be contemporary with Jacob's work "Diaries and Letters from India 1895-1900".