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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 101
The Pagoda of Hallibeed, Illustrated by Fifty-Six Photographic Views with Descriptive Letterpress - Richard Banner Oakeley - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Richard Banner Oakeley (1834 - 1914)

The Pagoda of Hallibeed, Illustrated by Fifty-Six Photographic Views with Descriptive Letterpress

 Richard Banner Oakeley, The Pagoda of Hallibeed, Illustrated by Fifty-Six Photographic Views, with descriptive letter-press, London: Thomas M'Lean, 1856-1857

Contemporary half morocco, title gilt-lettered on original morocco label on front board, edges gilt, spine in seven compartments with raised bands, the bands highlighted in gilt, lettered in gilt in the second compartment. Letterpress title, errata leaf, and explanatory leaf of text to each plate; all prints and leaves laid down
19.75 x 12.75 x 1.75 in (50.2 x 32.4 x 4.7 cm)

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Lot 102
Untitled [A Set of Seven Albumen Photographs of South Indian Temples and Landscapes Madras Presidency] - Captain Linnaeus Tripe - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Captain Linnaeus Tripe (1822 - 1902)

Untitled [A Set of Seven Albumen...
 Seven albumen prints from waxed-paper (calotype) negatives, each mounted on original card with Tripe’s blindstamped monogram
 Each image approx. 9.25 x 10.25 in (23.5 x 26 cm) to 10.5 x 14.5 in (27 x 37 cm), 14 x 14 in (35.5 x 36 cm); mounts approx. 16.75 x 21.5 in (42.5 x 54.5 cm)

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Lot 103
Untitled [Set of 18 Photographic Views in India: Monuments, Forts, Palaces, and Hill Stations] - Eugene Clutterbuck Impey - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Eugene Clutterbuck Impey (1830 - 1904)

Untitled [Set of 18 Photographic Views...
 A set of eighteen (18) albumen prints mounted on card, comprising individual and paired views, with printed captions beneath each image.
 Each image: approx. 9 x 11.5 in (23 x 29 cm) (some smaller), mounted on original card sheets

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Lot 104
A Group of Eight Cased Daguerreotype Portraits, Including Sitters of British and Indian Origin, by Baker & Sons, Newland‘s Daguerreotype, and Others - Baker & Sons, Newland’s Daguerreotype, and Others - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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A Group of Eight Cased Daguerreotype...
  
  

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Lot 105
Untitled [Portrait of Maharaja Duleep Singh] - John Jabez Edwin Mayall - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813 - 1901)

Untitled [Portrait of Maharaja Duleep...
 Quarter-plate daguerreotype approx. 3.5 x 3 in (9 x 8 cm), under glass, mounted with an original oval gilt brass mat featuring scroll and engine-turned decorative embossing, secured by its original brass preserver; housed in a dark brown leather-covered wooden case with blind-tooled borders, red velvet pad, and functional hook-and-eye clasp.

 

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Lot 106
Amrita Sher-Gil [First edition, signed presentation inscription from Umrao Singh Sher-Gil] - Karl Khandalavala - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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Amrita Sher-Gil [First edition, signed presentation inscription from Umrao Singh Sher-Gil]

 Karl Khandalavala, Amrita Sher-Gil, Bombay: New Book Co., 1945 [Title page says 1944/ back of title-page reads 'First Published in 1945']

pp 71; frontispiece portrait; 20 full-page tipped-in colour plates at the end; 3 tipped-in colour plates in the text; 5 tipped-in monochrome plates in the text; 8 monochrome plates at the end and numerous line drawings in the text, including some full-page; Red elephant based on the last incomplete painting by Sher-Gil on cover boards; Beige full-cloth binding with dust jacket.
14.9 x 11 x 0.6 in (38 x 28 x 1.7 cm)

An exceptionally rare and emotionally resonant presentation copy, inscribed by Umrao Singh Sher-Gil on the front endpaper to a personal acquaintance shortly after the tragic loss of both his wife and daughter.

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Lot 107
The People of India. A Series of Photographic Illustrations, with Descriptive Letterpress, of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan - John Forbes Watson and John Williams Kaye - A Distant View of India: Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs from the 17th to 20th Century
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The People of India. A Series of Photographic Illustrations, with Descriptive Letterpress, of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan

 John Forbes Watson and John William Kaye, The People of India. A Series of Photographic Illustrations, with Descriptive Letterpress, of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan, London: India Museum (later W. H. Allen & Co.), 1868–1875

Volumes II and VIII (of 8)
Two folio volumes (each approx. 555 × 430 mm), together comprising 115 original oval albumen prints, each laid down within printed borders, with facing tissue guards and detailed letterpress descriptions.

Volume II (1868): [4], 224 pp., with 57 photographic plates (Plates 56–110), with detailed letterpress.
Includes notable images of Himalayan border tribes and northern caste groups: Mechis, Sunwars, Limboos, Magars, Goorkhas, Rajpoot clans of Oude and Benares, Bhats, Pathans, Pasees. among others.
Regional breakdown: Darjeeling (1); Nipal (20); Oude (12); Benaras (7); Mirzapore (2); Behar (1); Allahabad (8); Moradabad (5)

Volume VIII (1875): [4], 263 pp., with 58 photographic plates (Plates 406–468), with detailed letterpress.
Covers South India, Nilgiri Hill tribes, and colonial Southeast Asia: Lingayets, Coorgs, Todas, Kotas, Irulas, Badagas, Yenadies, Shanar Christians, Khonds, Burmese, Kooki, Bugis, Malay tribes and others.
Regional breakdown: Mysore (17); Coorg (8); Neelgerries / Nilgiris (14); Chingleput (2); Madras (9); Travancore (2); Mysore and Southern India (1); Kattack (1); Khondistan (2); Malay Peninsula (1); Singapoor (3); Chittagong (1); Lower Provinces (3); Burmah (3); Burmah and Pegu (1); Arracan (1)

Contemporary publisher’s deluxe Victorian binding of full maroon cloth over bevelled boards, elaborately stamped in gilt and blind; upper cover with large central gilt medallion featuring a stylised sunburst enclosing a rosette motif, flanked by two gilt-tooled title panels reading “THE PEOPLE” and “OF INDIA” respectively, each bordered by floral cornerpieces; outer border panelled with a wide gilt and black scrollwork frame incorporating repetitive botanical and geometric designs, including palmettes and stylised lotus motifs at each corner (each)

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