BUCHANAN, Francis Hamilton. An Account of the District of Shahabad in 1809-10 [1812-13, printed slip pasted over the incorrect years] … Printed from the Buchanan Mss. in the India Office Library, with the permission of the Secretary of State for India in…

BUCHANAN, Francis Hamilton. An Account of the District of Shahabad in 1809-10 [1812-13, printed slip pasted over the incorrect years] … Printed from the Buchanan Mss. in the India Office Library, with the permission of the Secretary of State for India in Council. Patna: Published on behalf of the Bihar & Orissa Research Society by the Hon'ble Rai Bahadur Radha Krishna Jalan, and printed at the Patna Law Press. 1934.

Royal 8vo. Original [?] roan-backed cloth-covered boards with printed label to spine; pp. [2], iii, [2], iv, 444, very large folding table of agricultural tasks and yields at the end; extremities a little worn, front inner hinge re-inforced with cloth strip at an early date; folding table with a few crinkles, otherwise very good and printed on high-quality laid paper; presentation copy, inscribed in ink on verso of front fly-leaf by the publisher Radha Krishna Jalan (1882-1954), Patna businessman and art collector.

Very rare first unabridged and correct edition, after Martin Montgomery's 1838 edition, which is harshly criticised in the preface of this edition. Often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (1762-1829), the Scottish surgeon to the governor general of India Lord Wellesley in Calcutta in 1803 and 1804 founded what was to become Alipore Zoo in that city, the oldest botanical garden of India. Under Lord Wellesley he became director of the Natural History Project of India. While living in India he made significant contributions to the knowledge of the natural environment of India in the early 19th century. Between 1807 and 1814 he carried out extensive surveys of the areas within the jurisdiction of the British East India Company. His task was to report on topography, history, antiquities, ethnography and social condition of the inhabitants, religion, natural productions, including fisheries, forests, mineral wealth, and agriculture, were he paid attention to crops, growing methods, labour, prices and trade. On these arduous surveys he was accompanied by the botanical collector Bharat Singh.

This is probably the most detailed survey of almost all aspects of the district in the westernmost part of Bihar State, carried out by an indefatigable collector of data and information, informed by loving curiosity for the country and the way of life of the inhabitants within their natural and man-made environment.

Provenance: Bookplate R. A. Butler inside front cover. Rab Butler was born in India in 1902 (died in 1982) and brought up by his father with respect for the Indian way of life. He than became a long-serving British politician and educational reformer, with his achievements culminating in establishing the free secondary education and increasing access to higher education for working-class students.

SKU: 2124551