J. H. Furneaux (Editor) · 1895 (Undated)

Glimpses of India

USD 1,500

Glimpses of India: A Grand Photographic History of the Land of Antiquity, the Vast Empire of the East.

A large-format photographic survey of India. The title page itself is undated. C. B. Burrows is the publisher, not the author. The editor’s name—J. H. Furneaux—appears in relatively small print. Some dealers catalogue the same publication as “circa 1896.” A later or expanded issue from approximately 1898 is sometimes described as containing more than 600 illustrations, whereas your title page specifies 500 camera views.

A decorative visual record of the subcontinent in the age of early photographic publishing.Glimpses of India is one of the most comprehensive visual compendiums of the Indian subcontinent produced during the late Victorian era. Published "Under the Patronage of His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India," the book was designed as a monumental photographic survey to showcase the architectural grandeur, cultural complexity, and geographic diversity of the British Indian Empire to both Western audiences and elite colonial residents.Because it was compiled roughly forty years after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the historical commentary—written by a "corps of well-known writers" under Furneaux's direction—unabashedly reflects late 19th-century British colonial perspectives, frequently emphasizing imperial stability, technological progress, and the suppression of local uprisings. The true 1895 first edition was limited to a printing of 25,000 copies. When evaluating copies in the antiquarian trade, collectors should look at the prefatory pages. A widely circulated subsequent variant (often cataloged as circa 1896) includes a highly distinct endorsement letter from Mark Twain printed at the tail of page iv, written from his stop in Bombay on January 23, 1896. Copies containing this letter belong to the second state of the printing.

Edition

First Edition

Provenance

Provenance details available on request.

Condition

Good from the supplied images; full condition statement in preparation.

Status

Available