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Henry Hardy Cole, Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir. Prepared under the Authority of the Secretary of State for India in Council from Photographs, Plans, and Drawings taken by Order of the Government of India, London: India Museum, W. H. Allen and co., publishers to the India office, 1869

31, [1] p. plates, 44 mounted carbon autotype prints (numbered 1-44), a lithographed map, and 14 plans; original brown half-leather and orange cloth boards with gold-embossed titles and decorative borders, all edges gilt. Housed in a custom-made half-brown morocco and marbled paper slipcase with decorative gilt rules and title to the spine.
13.25 x 10.25 x 1 in (34 x 26 x 2.5 cm)

A PIONEERING PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF EARLY KASHMIRI TEMPLES — THE INAUGURAL PUBLICATION OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

"This work forms the first in the series of volumes which it is proposed to publish in connexion with the operations of the Archaeological Survey of India. The Illustrations have been produced from the original negatives in the Photographic Department of the India Museum by the 'Autotype' Process in Carbon and are therefore permanent." T.p. verso.

The text and illustrations, based on the 1868 fieldwork of Henry Hardy Cole, offer a detailed survey of early Hindu and Buddhist temple architecture in the Kashmir Valley, with particular emphasis on the temples of Martand, Pandrethan, Avantipur, Payar, and Ushkur.

The fine photographs were taken by John Burke (1843-1900), a commercial photographer operating with studios in Murree, India, and Peshawar, Afghanistan, and were produced under the supervision of the India Museum Photographic Department. He accompanied, alongside two "native surveyors, Thakoor Dass and Habeeb-oo-lah", Cole's expedition to the Kashmir Valley in October 1868 to survey the great pre-Islamic temples scattered through the region. These are among the earliest examples of photographic carbon print reproduction used in an official British colonial publication.

Cole, trained as both an architect and surveyor, employed measured drawing, site elevation, and camera-based imaging techniques in a methodical documentation of architectural heritage that was largely undocumented prior to his efforts. The carbon autotypes, prized for their rich tonal depth and permanence, render the carved capitals, porticoes, and sanctum structures with remarkable clarity.

The volume includes not only photographic plates but also plans, architectural sections, and elevations, making it a foundational work for both archaeological and art historical studies of early Kashmir architecture. As the inaugural publication of the Archaeological Survey series, it prefigures later, more expansive government-sponsored documentation projects under Cunningham and Burgess.

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