rare early depictions of indian rivers

Rare set of maps showing the route of the Jumna (Yamuna) and Ganges from their sources down through to the Bhagruttee and Jellinghee tributaries which lead to Calcutta and the Hoogly which then flows into the sea. The villages, towns, and cities along the rivers are all included such as Delhi, Agra, Cawnpoor (Kanpur), Allahabad (Prayagraj), Rajmahal, and Calcutta.

Jean-Baptiste Tassin (1800-1868) established the Oriental Lithographic Press in Calcutta, which operated from 1830 to 1841, and was a key supplier of quality maps in India. Tassin was able to adapt the lithography process to India's humid conditions, working with Bengali artists to adjust the pigments used, which resulted in highly detailed and colourful maps. The Oriental Lithographic Press became the Surveyor General of India's favoured contractor for map production during the 1830s and Tassin was responsible for issuing some of the finest Indian maps during this period.

Rare. We can only find three institutional copies in existance (British Library, SOAS, Wisconsin) and one in the Kalakriti Archives.

First edition; landscape 4to (35 x 25 cm); 7 hand-coloured lithograph maps, scale of 3 inches to 20 miles, index, and distance chart, all folding, two small pinholes to first map; original cloth boards, printed paper label to upper cover, touch of wear but a remarkably well preserved copy, internally bright and fresh.