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W G Osborne, The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing. [sic], with an introductory sketch of the origin and rise of the Sikh state, London: Henry Colburn, 1840

vi + [2] + xliv + 45-236 pages, including 16 engravings of Sher Singh, Akali, Sikh Armour, and Fakirs; Publisher's dark green vertically ribbed cloth with elaborate blind-stamped floral corner ornaments; gilt vignette of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on horseback to upper board, blind-stamped back board, and spine lettered in gilt, all edges uncut. Housed in a custom archival slipcase, half dark green morocco over marbled paper boards, the spine with twin gilt fillets and floral tools in compartments, and titled in gilt in a period style.
9.25 x 6 x 1 in (23.5 x 15.5 x 2.5 cm)

COURT, CAMP, AND CEREMONY: OSBORNE’S ILLUSTRATED RECORD OF THE SIKH EMPIRE AT ITS ZENITH

This richly illustrated volume offers one of the earliest and most vivid British accounts of the Sikh Empire at its political and military height. Captain William Godolphin Osborne accompanied the Governor-General Lord Auckland’s diplomatic mission to Lahore in 1838, serving as military secretary. Originally composed as a private travelogue and later prepared for publication, Osborne’s text reflects the British imperial fascination with Ranjit Singh’s court—an arena of both political negotiation and ethnographic observation—on the eve of transformative events in the Punjab.

The work is divided into two parts. The first section provides a concise historical sketch of Sikhism’s emergence and the formation of the Khalsa state, tracing its ideological foundations in the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh and culminating in the unification of Punjab under Ranjit Singh, who established his rule in Lahore in 1799. The main text (pp. 45–236) is a detailed narrative of Osborne’s experiences during the mission, documenting formal interviews with Ranjit Singh and his senior ministers, elaborate ceremonial displays, and martial spectacles of the Khalsa army. He offers highly descriptive accounts of the Sikh military’s cavalry and artillery, the distinctive dress and bearing of Akali warriors, and the pageantry of courtly rituals and encampments.

Although filtered through a colonial lens, Osborne’s portrayal of Ranjit Singh is frequently admiring, describing him as a singular ruler whose legitimacy rested on a compelling blend of military prowess, religious tolerance, and administrative intelligence. The volume’s tone alternates between strategic analysis and ethnographic curiosity, placing it within the tradition of early colonial reportage that sought to understand—and sometimes aestheticise—its subjects.

The sixteen tinted lithographic plates, executed by J.D. Harding after Osborne’s own field sketches, are central to the book’s visual impact. These include portraits of Sher Singh (Ranjit Singh’s son and successor), vignettes of Sikh infantry and Akali ascetics, panoramic scenes of Lahore, and detailed renderings of court processions and martial regalia. The original cloth binding is especially noteworthy, bearing a gilt-stamped vignette of Ranjit Singh on horseback, underscoring the volume’s dual identity as a political document and a finely produced illustrated book.

Published just a few years before the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46) that brought Punjab under British dominion, The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing remains a foundational source for understanding British-Sikh diplomacy, Khalsa military culture, and the visual language of colonial encounter.

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