Captain Harris (1826-62) served in the 8th Madras Light Cavalry between 1845 and 1860, becoming a captain in 1858. When his regiment was posted to Mhow, he visited Mandu (about 50 miles away) in April 1852. Mandu had flourished under the Muslim ruler, Hushang Shah, after he transferred his capital from Dhar in the early fifteenth century. Hushang Shah built mosques, palaces, tombs and tanks within fortified walls. Harris' set of views contains the Delhi Gate, one of Mandu's main entrances, the mosque and marble mausoleum of Hushang Shah, and the village. Another lithograph shows the Jahz-Mahal, which, as Harris explained bears the name of the 'Water Palace.' Mandoo is a fine example of the way in which, after the tours of Hodges and the Daniells, landscape artists increasingly sketched more remote regions, thus increasing the interest of the public in the Indian subcontinent.

First edition; folio (51 x 33 cm), title-page, 3-page historical sketch, preface with list of plates on verso, descriptive letterpress for each plate, 6 tinted lithographs by Jacques Guiand after sketches by the author, original blue moirè blind-stamped cloth gilt, rebacked, corners bumped, plates clean and fresh, a very good copy.

Abbey (Travel), 490; Bobins 253.