"Ce livre est rare et il n'en existe que très peu d'exemplaires complet..." [Colas].
A beautiful and fascinating work. This is the later, improved edition, with more plates, of the work originally published in Calcutta in 1799. A version with 60 redrawn and re-engraved plates was also published by William Orme in 1805, and again in 1807.
Solvyns (1760-1824) spent many years studying and recording the life of the Hindus in the 1790s. On his return home he was shipwrecked on the coast of Spain, losing many of his original notes and drawings. This edition was published in partnership with his wife, Mary Anne Greenwood, who undertook the English translation of the text. Having exhausted his wife's considerable fortune through his publishing exploits, Solvyns returned to Antwerp and ended his days as a harbour-master.
Lot heading
Other Properties
Printed Books and Drawings SOLVYNS (FRANS BALTHAZAR)