° ° Emily Eden (1797-1869) - PORTRAITS OF THE PRINCES & PEOP...

Hammer

£29,000

° ° Emily Eden (1797-1869) - PORTRAITS OF THE PRINCES & PEOPLE OF INDIA. AN EXTREMELY RARE COPY OF THE BEST ISSUE. Hand coloured lithographed title mounted on card, list of plates and 27 hand coloured lithographed plates, heightened with bodycolour and gum-Arabic, by Lowes-Dickinson after Eden, printed by Charles Hullmandel and mounted on 24 card mounts with ink borders ruled by hand and 24 leaves of commentary text, published by J. Dickinson & Son, London,1844, with letterpress titles and captions on paper mounted on each verso, each interleaved with blank guard sheets.

Unbound, as issued, in original purple morocco-back and cloth portfolio, upper cover blocked in gilt ‘Hon.E.Eden’s India Part.1’ around an integral vignette illustration of a snake coiled around an egg. 55.5 x 44.5cm. Not in Abbey.
Estimate £25,000-35,000

A scarce coloured edition of Emily Eden's major work, one of just a handful of copies published in this particular format. Emily Eden, the seventh daughter of William Eden, first baron Auckland, accompanied her brother, George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland (1784-1849), during his tenure as Governor-General of India from 1835 to 1842. A gifted amateur artist and writer, Eden documented her experiences in India through letters and an extensive collection of sketches. Upon her return to England in 1842, Eden privately arranged for the printing of her images as a portfolio of 24 lithographs, known as "Portraits," which was published in 1844 in four parts. While the majority of copies were issued without colouration, a select few, including the present edition, were beautifully hand-coloured. In addition to the "Portraits," Eden's journal, "Up the Country: Letters Written to her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India," was published in 1866.

The "Portraits" by Eden feature detailed depictions and accompanying textual descriptions of various Indian rulers and their families, whom Lord Auckland encountered during his term in office. Initially residing in Calcutta, Lord Auckland and his entourage travelled through the Upper Provinces from October 1837 to February 1840, engaging with princely subjects. Notable individuals met and portrayed by Eden during this tour included the Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh empire and ruler of the Punjab until his death in 1839, his second son, the Maharaja Sher Singh, ruler of the Punjab 1841-1843, the Raja of Nahun, the Raja of Patiala, and Raja Hira Singh, son of the Prime Minister of the Punjab. The richness and splendour of the Indian Princes are deftly captured in this fine work.

Depictions also include servants attached to Government House, and their families, part of a 12,000-strong retinue accompanying Lord Auckland and party up the country. There are additional depictions of figures that Emily Eden observed along the way - Pathans, Tibetans and others.
The list of plates is as follows (using contemporary spelling in some cases):
The son of the Nawab of Banda (frontispiece).
Dost Muhammad Khan, ruler of Afghanistan, and family.
Maharajah Sher Singh, 'the present sovereign of the Sikhs'.
Hindoo Fakeer.
Two Jemadars, Calcutta (two plates on one card).
Akalees, 'being very wild in appearance, and turbulent characters'.
The Rajah of Patiala.
Rajah Heera Singh.
Rajah Hindoo Rao.
A Patiala horseman.
A young hill Rajah, from the area around Simla.
Falconers, servants of the King of Oudh.
Servants of Raja Khurruk Singh.
The late Maharajah Ranjit Singh, 'in his usual attitude and dress'.
The horse and groom, and the jewels of Ranjit Singh, including the Koh-i-Noor (two plates on one card).
Hunting leopards of the King of Oudh with attendants.
Arab servants of Sir Alexander Burnes.
A fakeer at an encampment.
A Hindoo student at Calcutta and a girl, the daughter of a servant (two plates on one card).
Purtab Singh, a Sikh prince, murdered at Lahore.
A Shootr-Suwar, a camel despatch rider.
The Rajah of Nahun and sons; Anund Musseeh, a convert to Christianity (two plates on one card).
Tibetan tartars, traders, sketched at Simla.
A Zemindar and a Pathan.
Lord Auckland receiving the Rajah of Nahun in Durbar.

More Information

Portraits of the Princes and Peoples of India - Front and rear boards faded, especially to 10cm. strip to right side of front board.
List of Plates with some loss and tears to right side.
Title borders browned, coloured image good.
The plates - with very few exceptions the images are remarkably bright and unaffected by spotting, as are the captions mounted verso.
Plate borders are spotted, as are the areas surrounding the captions.
Worming noted to top right margin of plate 14 Commentary leaves generally good - a few with close tears to margins. Page 19 repaired lower right.

PROVENANCE: Purchased from Sotheby’s Grosvenor Galleries, 1985, thence private collection Sussex.