NON-EXPORTABLE
TITLE: A Bengal Atlas
SUB TITLE: Atlas containing maps of the theatre of war and commerce on that side of Hindoostan. Compiled from the original surveys; and published by order of the Honourable the Court of Directors for theAffairs of the East India-Company. By James Rennell, Late Major of Engineers, and Surveyor General in Bengal
AUTHOR: James Rennell
PUBLISHER: Compiled from the Original Surveys; and published by Order of the HONORABLE THE COURT OF DIRECTORS for the Affairs of the EAST INDIA COMPANY
PLACE: London
YEAR: 1781
BINDING: Contemporary mottled calf with elaborate gilted decorated borders to boards (front and back), all edges gilted and marbled paste downs
NO.OF PAGES: Title page, contents list with errata printed to verso, advertisement, map of inland navigation, tables of routes and distances, key map to Bengal and Bahar, nineteen double page engraved maps and one single page map, engraved panorama of Oudanulla and Chunargur (onone sheet), the first ten maps with contemporary outline colouring, lacking the battle of Buxur plan.
SIZE:
Height: 49.5 cm
Width: 36 cm
Depth: 2.5 cm
First published 1780, the main portion of that edition was captured by the Spanish en route from London to India; this is the second edition.
Rennell's survey of Bengal, which was commenced in the autumn of 1764, was the first ever prepared. The headquarters of the surveyor-general were at Dacca, and in the successive working seasons he gradually completed his difficult, laborious, and dangerous task.
His most valuable works include the Bengal Atlas (1779), the first approximately correct map of India (1783), the Geographical System of Herodotus (1800),[5] the Comparative Geography of Western Asia (1831), and important studies on the geography of northern Africa - apparent in introductions to the Travels of Mungo Park and Hornemann.
James Rennell, now known as the Father of Indian Geography, laboured in Bengal and elsewhere for a period of 13 years, during which he surveyed an area of about 300,000 square miles (780,000 km), stretching from the eastern boundaries of Lower Bengal to Agra, and from the Himalayas to the borders of Bundelkhand and Chota Nagpur. Rennell was originally just one surveyor among many, but he showed such enthusiasm and ability that Major-General Robert Clive, the governor of Bengal and Bihar, promoted him to Surveyor-General in 1767. Rennell was only 24 at the time. The mapping project was originally a general survey of newly acquired lands, but the job soon gained a wider scope under Warren Hastings, who was appointed as Governor-General in 1773. One of Hastings' first projects was to begin a Domesday stylereckoning of property, land, people, and culture for taxation of revenue. As for Rennell's part in this, his project was carried out much like a military survey, searching for safe passage through territory, with information gathering a secondary object.
In 1776, when on the frontier of Bhutan, his party was attacked by some Sannyasis, and Rennell himself was desperately wounded. He never entirely recovered from the effects of his injuries, and was thenceforth less able to withstand theeffects of the climate. He received the rank of major of Bengal engineers on 5 April 1776, and retired from active service in 1777. The government of Warren Hastings granted him a pension of 600 pounds per annum, which the East India Company somewhattardily confirmed.
Rennell surveyed Bengal separately, during his work at India and sketched up the most detail geographical information ever has listed particularly in this area. For the sake of better understanding of his data he wrote a book titled "Memoir of a map of Hindoostan". He categorized places into seven categories: Cities (2), Capital of Province (13), Large Town (51), Large Bazar and Cutcherry (255), Small Bazar and Cutcherry (577), Village (1974) and Fort (18).
Theremaining fifty-three years of his life were spent in London, and were devoted to geographical research chiefly among the materials in the East India House. He took up his residence in Suffolk Street, near Portland Place, where his house became a place of meeting for travelers from all parts of the world. (courtesy: wikipedia)
This lot will be sold in "as is" condition.
There may be some minor tears/creases scratches, or holes commensurate with age that may not be visible in the images.
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