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Details
JAMES PRINSEP (1799-1840)
Benares Illustrated, in a series of drawings. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, [1831-]1833. 2° (410 x 259mm). 28 lithographic plates, all but one on india paper and mounted, and 6 engraved plates. (Some spotting, mostly confined to the margins except with the first plate, very short marginal tear to penultimate plate without loss, marginal chip to one text leaf.) Contemporary calf by R. Macculloch of Calcutta (binder's ticket), covers with wide border intricately tooled in gilt and blind with large palmette cornerpieces, arabesque centre-block tooled in blind with inner interlacing foliate pattern, lettered in gilt to centre of upper cover, gilt spine, marbled endpapers, gilt edges (rebacked preserving original spine, extremities lightly rubbed).
A RARE WORK OF LITHOGRAPHS AND ENGRAVINGS by (amongst others) J.D. Harding, L. Haghe, W. Walton, after drawings by James Prinsep. 'A brilliant architect, palaeographer and numismatist' (cf. Abbey Travel, 607). Prinsep was one of the many sons of an indigo merchant, who was himself assay-master at Benares for many years, where he advised on the construction of the new mint, a church, a bridge and on the improvement of the drainage of the city into the Ganges. The lithographic plates were printed at London by Hullmandel and Day and Haghe, but the engravings were probably printed in India, engraved by James's brother William and an Indian engraver, Kasheenath. Not in Abbey.
Benares Illustrated, in a series of drawings. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, [1831-]1833. 2° (410 x 259mm). 28 lithographic plates, all but one on india paper and mounted, and 6 engraved plates. (Some spotting, mostly confined to the margins except with the first plate, very short marginal tear to penultimate plate without loss, marginal chip to one text leaf.) Contemporary calf by R. Macculloch of Calcutta (binder's ticket), covers with wide border intricately tooled in gilt and blind with large palmette cornerpieces, arabesque centre-block tooled in blind with inner interlacing foliate pattern, lettered in gilt to centre of upper cover, gilt spine, marbled endpapers, gilt edges (rebacked preserving original spine, extremities lightly rubbed).
A RARE WORK OF LITHOGRAPHS AND ENGRAVINGS by (amongst others) J.D. Harding, L. Haghe, W. Walton, after drawings by James Prinsep. 'A brilliant architect, palaeographer and numismatist' (cf. Abbey Travel, 607). Prinsep was one of the many sons of an indigo merchant, who was himself assay-master at Benares for many years, where he advised on the construction of the new mint, a church, a bridge and on the improvement of the drainage of the city into the Ganges. The lithographic plates were printed at London by Hullmandel and Day and Haghe, but the engravings were probably printed in India, engraved by James's brother William and an Indian engraver, Kasheenath. Not in Abbey.