William Godolphin, Lord . The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing … With an introductory Sketch of the Origin and Rise of the Sikh State.

by OSBORNE

£4,000 · Offered by Henry Sotheran Ltd

The cornerstone of any Sikh book collection OSBORNE, William Godolphin, Lord . The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing … With an introductory Sketch of the Origin and Rise of the Sikh State. London: Henry Colburn . 1840. 8vo. Original illustrated and decorated cloth (expert restorations to hinges and spine ends), housed in a custom-made slipcase; pp. xliv, [45]-236, [4, publisher's catalogue], 16 lithographic plates after drawings by the author; a little spotting to plates and double-page 128/9; otherwise a very attractive copy in the beautiful publisher's binding. Very rare first edition of this cornerstone of every Sikh book collection, written and illustrated by the military secretary to the Governor General, his uncle Lord Auckland. In May 1838, Osborne was sent to Ranjit Singh's court in Lahore to make arrangements for the later British mission there. 'First published in 1840 in London, [this] is a journal recording events in the Punjab of the period from 19 May to 13 July 1838 and the author’s personal impressions. The author visited Lahore First as a member of Sir William H. Macnaghten`s mission in May 1838, and then in December of the same year with the Governor General during his meeting with Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Firozpur. The journal is preceded by an introduction about the origin and rise of the Sikh people and is followed by a few letters of the author to the Maharaja and one from the Maharaja to the author. The book is illustrated with sixteen beautiful lithograph

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.