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A DISTANT VIEW OF INDIA: BOOKS, MAPS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 17TH TO 20TH CENTURY (6-7 AUGUST 2025)

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Lot 61
Asiatic Costumes; A Series of Forty-Four Coloured Engravings, from designs taken from Life: With a description to each subject - Captain Robert Smith - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Captain Robert Smith (1787 - 1853)

Asiatic Costumes; A Series of Forty-Four Coloured Engravings, from designs taken from Life: With a description to each subject

Captain Robert Smith, Asiatic Costumes; A Series of Forty-Four Coloured Engravings, from designs taken from Life: With a description to each subject, London: R Ackermann, 1828

[iv] and 88 pages; 44 fine later hand-coloured engraved plates; finely rebound in early 20th-century half brown calf over marbled paper-covered boards, corners neatly capped in matching calf. Spine with simple gilt lettering in the second compartment. Marbled endpapers, with the armorial bookplate of noted collector J. R. Abbey to the front pastedown. Housed in a modern bespoke slipcase in quarter brown morocco and yellow-grey marbled paper-covered boards, gilt-lettered to the spine with decorative fleurons and double gilt fillets.
7.25 x 4.25 x 1 in (18.5 x 11 x 3 cm)

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Lot 62
The Sundhya or the Daily Prayers of the Brahmins. Illustrated in a series of original drawings from nature, demonstrating their attitudes and different signs and figures performed by them during the ceremonies of their morning devotions - Sophie Charlotte Belnos - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Sophie Charlotte Belnos (1795 - 1865)

The Sundhya or the Daily Prayers of the Brahmins. Illustrated in a series of original drawings from nature, demonstrating their attitudes and different signs and figures performed by them during the ceremonies of their morning devotions

Belnos (Mrs S[ophia] C[harlotte]), The Sundhya or the Daily Prayers of the Brahmins. Illustrated in a Series of Original Drawings from Nature, demonstrating their Attitudes and Different Signs and Figures performed by them during the Ceremonies of their Morning Devotions, and likewise their Poojas. Together with a Descriptive Text annexed to each Plate, and the Prayers from the Sanscrit, translated into English, 1st edition, [London: Day & Son], 1851

Hand-coloured lithographic vignette title page, 24 hand-coloured lithographic plates each measuring 75 x 58 cm, a preface leaf, 21 leaves of descriptive text annexed to each plate, and the Sanskrit prayers translated into English by Mrs S C Belnos; original half green cloth over marbled paper-covered boards, corners also bound in matching green cloth; large green printed title label mounted to upper cover, ruled and lettered in black within a double-line border. The institutional ownership stamp of Königliche Hof- und Staatsbibliothek, Bayern (Royal Court and State Library of Bavaria) is stamped on the inner board.
24.25 x 17.5 in (61.5 x 44.5 cm)

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Lot 63
Mani-Málá, or a Treatise on Gems - Sourindro Mohun Tagore - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Mani-Málá, or a Treatise on Gems

Sourindro Mohun Tagore, Mani-Málá; or, A Treatise on Gems, Calcutta: Printed by I. C. Bose & Co., Stanhope Press; Published by the Author, 1879–81. First edition

(In 2 Volumes)
Volume I: [22] iv [2] 1-506 pages, letterpress English title-page, additional decorative title-page with the portrait of Sourindro Mohun Tagore, 1879
Volume II: [18], xiv, ii, 509–1046 pp., 8 wood-engraved plates with 48 illustrations of famous diamonds. Text in English, with Sanskrit, Hindi, and Bengali references throughout; some sections printed in Devanagari and Bengali scripts, 1881
Rebound in recent beige cross-hatched linen over boards, with teal morocco title label to spine, lettered in gilt. Housed in a matching custom-made linen slipcase with a green-lined interior and thumb cut-out for ease of access (each)
9.5 x 6.25 x 2 in (24 x 16 x 5 cm) (each)

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Lot 64
Illustrations of the Textile Manufactures of India. Second Series - John Forbes Watson - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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John Forbes Watson (1827 - 1892)

Illustrations of the Textile Manufactures of India. Second Series

John Forbes Watson, Illustrations of the Textile Manufactures of India. Second Series, London: Indian Office for the Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, South Kensington Museum [later the Victoria & Albert Museum], 1881

Title page followed by 94 chromolithographed plates in gold and silver and a multitude of colors on thick card and signed in plate: W. Griggs, photo-litho, India Museum (numbered 2–28, 40–41, 48, 56–68, 70–71, 73–75, 77–80, 84, 86–94, 96–101, 101a, 103–104, 108, 110–120, 122–123, 125–126, 129–133, 386, 388), each mounted on guards and printed with caption titles in letterpress and plate numbers below each printed image indicating region, material, and local terminology. Lacking 47 plates (nos. 1, 29–39, 42–47, 49–55, 69, 72, 76, 81–83, 85, 95, 102, 105–107, 109, 121, 124, 127–128, 387); original publisher’s tan cloth portfolio, retaining yellow gilt-embossed title panel to upper cover, with red silk ribbon marker, top edges gilt.

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Lot 65
Le Costume Historique. Cinq cents planches, trois cents en couleurs, or et argent, deux cents en camaïeu [6 Volumes] - Auguste Racinet - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Auguste Racinet (1825 - 1893)

Le Costume Historique. Cinq cents planches, trois cents en couleurs, or et argent, deux cents en camaïeu [6 Volumes]

Auguste Racinet, Le Costume Historique: Cinq cents planches, trois cents en couleurs, or et argent, deux cents en camaieu, Paris: Librairie de Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1888

6 Volumes
Volume I: Costume Theory and Ornate Origins
Volume II: Antiquity – Ancient Civilizations and Non-European Peoples
Volume III: Europe – From the Byzantine Empire to the Renaissance
Volume IV: Northern and Central Europe – Renaissance in the 18th Century
Volume V: Popular and Traditional Costumes of Eastern and Southern Europe
Volume VI: France, Spain, Portugal and Costume Accessories

Bound in late 19th-century French half-brown morocco over red and black marbled boards; spine in six compartments with gilt-tooled floral devices and ruled raised bands, titled in gilt within compartments two to four; marbled endpapers (each)
Approx. 16.25 x 11.5 in (41.5 x 29.5 cm) (each)

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Lot 66
Shakuntala Writing Love Letter (Shakuntala Patralekhan) - Raja Ravi Varma Press - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Shakuntala Writing Love Letter...
 Circa late 1890s–early 1900s

Chromolithograph on paper

20 x 27.75 in (51 x 70.5 cm)

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Lot 67
The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India - C R Day - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India

C R Day, The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India and the Deccan, London and New York: Novello, Ewer and co, 1891

173 pages, including an introduction by A J Hipkins and 17 chromolithograph plates by William Gibb; vellum bound with gilt text to the front board and leather title ticket pasted at the spine. Housed in a custom-made half-brown morocco and marbled paper slipcase with decorative gilt rules and title to the spine.
13 x 10.5 in (33.5 x 27 cm)

This is the deluxe edition limited to 700 copies and 50 artists' proofs.

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Lot 68
The Journal of Indian Art: Indian Carpets and Rugs, Volume XI, Nos.89-94 - Thomas Holbein Hendley and Fred H Andrews - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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The Journal of Indian Art: Indian Carpets and Rugs, Volume XI, Nos.89-94


Thomas Holbein Hendley and Fred H Andrews, The Journal of Indian Art: Indian Carpets and Rugs, Volume XI, Nos. 89-94, London: W. Griggs & Sons, April 1906

10 pages, 82 black and white and 18 colour chromolithographic plates; contemporary half maroon morocco over dark red pebble-grain cloth-covered boards; gilt title at the spine; marbled edges
14.5 x 11 x 1 in (37.5 x 28 x 2.5 cm)

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Lot 69
Collection de Planches au Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine; par M Sonnerat - Pierre Sonnerat - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Pierre Sonnerat (1748 - 1814)

Collection de Planches au Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine; par M Sonnerat

Pierre Sonnerat, Collection de Planches au Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine; par M Sonnerat, Paris: Dentu, 1806

8 pages, 140 engraved plates (some folding and later hand-coloured); half leather bound with marbled paper boards and gilt text to the spine
11.5 x 8.75 x 1.75 in (29.2 x 22.5 x 4.5 cm)

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Lot 70
Untitled [A Suite of Six Large-Format Aquatints after Henry Salt] - D Havell and J Bluck after Henry Salt - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Untitled [A Suite of Six Large-Format...

a) D Havell after Henry Salt
A View within the Fort of Monghyr
May 1, 1809
Hand coloured aquatint engraving on paper
Print Size: 17.75 x 23.5 in (45 × 60 cm)
Sheet Size: 18 x 24 in (46 x 61 cm)

b) J Bluck signature reads “I. Bluck” [sic]) after Henry Salt
Pagoda at Tanjore
1 May, 1809
Original hand-coloured aquatint on paper
Print Size: 18 x 23.5 in (46 x 60 cm)
Sheet Size: 19 x 25.75 in (48 x 65.5 cm)


c) D Havell after Henry Salt
Pagodas at Trinchicunum
1 May, 1809
Original hand-coloured aquatint on paper
Print Size: 45.5 x 60.2 cm
Sheet Size: 46.5 x 61.5 cm

d) D Havell after Henry Salt
Riacotta in the Baramahal
1 May, 1809
Original hand-coloured aquatint on paper
Print Size: 45 x 59.5cm
Sheet Size: 48.8 x 65 cm

e) D Havell after Henry Salt
Poonah
1 May, 1809
Original hand-coloured aquatint on paper
Print Size: 45 x 60 cm
Sheet Size: 48.8 x 67.5 cm

f) D Havell after Henry Salt
Ancient Excavations at Carli
1 May, 1809
Original hand-coloured aquatint on paper
Print Size: 46 x 60 cm
Sheet Size: 48 x 65.5 cm

NON-EXPORTABLE

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Lot 71
Madras [A Panoramic View] - William Daniell and Edmund Parris after Augustus Earle - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Madras [A Panoramic View]
 Circa 1832

Aquatint on paper

Complete sheet: 6 x 91.75 in (15 x 233 cm)
When rolled: 6 x 1 in (15 x 2.5 cm) (scroll format)

Published at Coromandel Place, New Road, nearly opposite the end of Gower Street, London

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Lot 72
Views in India, Saint Helena, and Car Nicobar, Drawn from Nature and on Stone by Major John Luard - Major John Luard - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Major John Luard (1790 - 1875)

Views in India, Saint Helena, and Car Nicobar, Drawn from Nature and on Stone by Major John Luard

Major John Luard, Views in India, Saint Helena, and Car Nicobar, Drawn from Nature and on Stone by Major John Luard, London: J. Graf, printer to Her Majesty, circa 1832-38

244 pages, including 1 hand-coloured lithograph frontispiece, 1 hand-coloured lithographed title page, and 58 hand-coloured lithograph plates, having a descriptive text for each plate; half black morocco over moiré green cloth boards, spine with gilt tooling and lettered “Views in India – Luard,” marbled edges, later housed in a protective custom blue cloth box.
14.5 x 10.5 x 1.25 in (36.6 x 27 x 3.5 cm)

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Lot 73
The Oriental Annual: Containing a Series of Tales, Legends, and Historical Romances - Reverend Hobart Caunter and Thomas Bacon - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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The Oriental Annual: Containing a Series of Tales, Legends, and Historical Romances

Reverend Hobart Caunter and Thomas Bacon, The Oriental Annual: Containing a Series of Tales, Legends, and Historical Romances, London: Edward Bull, 1834-1839, 7 Volumes

Full-leather binding with a caparisoned elephant embossed in gold and entwined serpents blind-stamped on the cover, the spines with the title at the centre, a camel at the lower bottom, and a palm tree embossed in gold, all edges gilt (each)
7.75 x 5.25 x 1 in (20 x 13.5 x 2.7 cm) (each)

7 Volumes
Volume I: (1834); 254 including 1 later hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 1 later hand-coloured engraved vignette title and 23 later hand-coloured engravings from original drawings by William Daniell, R.A., and a descriptive account by Rev. Hobart Caunter, B.D.

Volume II: (1835); 242, including 1 later hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 1 later hand-coloured engraved vignette title and 20 later hand-coloured engravings from original drawings by William Daniell, R.A., and a descriptive account by Rev. Hobart Caunter, B.D.

Volume III: (1836); 297, including 1 later hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 1 later hand-coloured engraved vignette title and 20 later hand-coloured engravings from original drawings by William Daniell, R.A., and a descriptive account by Rev. Hobart Caunter, B.D.

Volume IV: (1837); 240, including 1 later hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 1 later hand-coloured engraved vignette title and 20 later hand-coloured engravings from original drawings by William Daniell, R.A., and a descriptive account by Rev. Hobart Caunter, B.D.

Volume V: (1838); 242, including 1 later hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 1 later hand-coloured engraved vignette title and 20 later hand-coloured engravings from original drawings by William Daniell, R.A., and a descriptive account by Rev. Hobart Caunter, B.D.

Volume VI: (1839); 244, including 1 later hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 1 later hand-coloured engraved vignette title and 16 later hand-coloured engravings, including sketches by the author and engravings by W and E Finden. From drawings by D Roberts, H Warren, C Stansfield, T C Dibdin, T Creswick

Volume VII: (1839); 268 including 1 later hand-coloured frontispiece, 1 later hand-coloured vignette title, 20 later hand-coloured plates, totalling 22 plates after drawings by William Daniell

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Lot 74
Sketches of Native Life in India, with Views in Rajpootana, Simlah, etc. - Charles Richard Francis - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Charles Richard Francis (1821 - 1901)

Sketches of Native Life in India, with Views in Rajpootana, Simlah, etc.

Charles Richard Francis, Sketches of Native Life in India, with Views in Rajpootana, Simlah, etc., London: Meldola, Cahn & Co., 1848

iv; [1] blank page; 30 pages, including 22 later hand-coloured tinted lithographed plates by J C Anderson after C H Fairland; list of plates; 4 pages of a list of subscribers at the end; errata slip pasted at the end; original publisher’s brown moiré-patterned cloth boards with brown morocco leather spine and corners; upper cover lettered in gilt; spine with gilt ruling; edges untrimmed.
13.75 x 10.5 x 0.4 in (35 x 26.5 x 1.1 cm)

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Lot 75
Reise um die Erde (Journey Round the World) - Eduard Hildebrandt - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Eduard Hildebrandt (1818 - 1868)

Reise um die Erde (Journey Round the World)

Eduard Hildebrandt, Reise um die Erde (Journey Round the World), Berlin: R. Wagner [and Raimund Mitscher], [c.1862–64]

33 of 34 chromolithographic plates after watercolours by Eduard Hildebrandt, lithographed by R Steinbock (30) and W Loeillot (3), each mounted on thick cardstock measuring 45.5 x 56 cm, with original printed labels behind the cardstock of each image; original publisher’s deluxe binding in full red morocco-grain cloth over bevelled boards, lavishly stamped in gilt with decorative scrollwork and corner medallions representing four continents: Europa, Afrika, Amerika, and Asien; title lettered in large gilt on front cover, gilt ornamental rule to borders; all edges gilt; cream-glazed endpapers; spine with matching decorative gilt rule.
22 x 18 in (56 x 45.5 cm)

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Lot 76
The Birds of Asia: Volume XX - John Gould - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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The Birds of Asia: Volume XX

John Gould, The Birds of Asia. Part XX. London: Published by the Author, 1 April 1868

16 hand-coloured lithographic plates, numbered Pl. 4–19, each with accompanying descriptive letterpress text. Text, and 16 hand-coloured lithographic plates by Joseph Wolf or John Gould in collaboration with H C Richter, and they were printed by Hullmandel & Walton, one of the foremost lithographic firms of the 19th century, heightened with gum Arabic; original printed brown wrappers with lithographed vignettes of pheasants and decorative letterpress, recently rebacked in navy blue quarter faux leather with a brick-red leather spine label titled in gilt “THE BIRDS OF ASIA / J. GOULD, F.R.S.” in serifed capitals; edges uncut; housed within the original plain rear wrapper. The upper wrapper bears the printed publication details: Published by the Author, 26 Charlotte Street, Bedford Square, W.C., April 1st, 1890. Contents listed in two columns, including species such as Ptilorhis Paradiseus, Garrulus Salviae, Calocitta Albirenteris, and Lophospiza ferruginea.
22.5 x 15.5 in (57 x 39.5 cm)

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Lot 77
Untitled [A Rare Archive of 80 Postcards Depicting Women in Colonial India] - Multiple Artists - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Untitled [A Rare Archive of 80...
 Circa 1900–1935

Photographic and hand-coloured postcards, halftone and collotype prints, various publishers, including Moorli Dhur & Sons, Calcutta, Bombay and others

Each approx. 5.5 x 3.75 in (13.8 x 8.9 cm)

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Lot 78
Sir Pertab Singh of Idar: A Magnificent Hand-Coloured Photographic Portrait - Attributed to Case and Sons, Simla - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Sir Pertab Singh of Idar: A Magnificent ...
 Circa 1930s

Hand-coloured albumen print mounted on card

Image size: approx. 15 x 11 in (38.1 x 27.9 cm)
Framed size: approx. 23 x 19 in (58.4 x 48.2 cm)

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Lot 79
The Jubilee Book of Cricket [Signed and Limited Edition Copy] - K S Ranjitsinhji - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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K S Ranjitsinhji (1872 - 1933)

The Jubilee Book of Cricket [Signed and Limited Edition Copy]

K S Ranjitsinhji, The Jubilee Book of Cricket, Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1897

xvi + 474 pages, including single photogravure frontispiece of the author, 21 further photogravure plates after Lucien Davis and 85 full-page photographic (halftone) plates; original publisher’s full cream buckram with gilt title to spine and upper board, adorned with gilt and blue ribbon cricket motifs and gilted title at spine, top edge gilt, uncut edges
10.2 x 8.4 in (26 x 21.5 cm)

This is copy number 80 from a limited edition of 350 on hand-made paper signed by Prince Ranjitsinhji.

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Lot 80
Sixteen Illustrations to Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” - Maurice and Edward Detmold - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Sixteen Illustrations to Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”

Maurice and Edward Detmold, Sixteen Illustrations to Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”, London: Macmillan & Co., 1903

Bifolium text leaf with title and list of illustrations, original publisher’s green cloth portfolio, gilt-stamped with a stylised gryphon by the artists, bordered in gilt, and secured with two brown silk ties; containing the complete suite of sixteen colour photogravure plates after original watercolours by the Detmold brothers, each tipped onto grey card mounts (approx. 43 × 33 cm), printed with letterpress captions and protected by tissue guards.
22.75 x 16 in (58 x 41 cm)

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