Mughal portrait book sells for 21 times estimate
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
In Scotland, a rare book published in Delhi around 1880 sold for £16,640 at auction.
The book, titled ‘A History of the Emperors of Delhi in the Mughal Family’, contains 56 photographic portraits of Mughal rulers and royal women. Lyon & Turnbull auctioned the first edition as part of a Books and Manuscripts sale, and it fetched a price nearly 21 times higher than the upper estimate of £800.
The book’s portraits were created from Mughal miniature paintings and reproduced as albumen prints, accompanied by lithographic captions. These images depict members of the Mughal dynasty as they were represented in the late 19th century. Munshi Bulaqi Dass authored the volume, and Mayor Press printed it in Delhi. Rare Book Hub reported the sale, noting the book came from the Indian library of Dr Raj Krishna. Auction house records indicate no similar copies exist in institutional libraries.
Bulaqi Dass also wrote a photographic account of earlier Indian rulers, ‘Tawarikh-i Ghuri’, in Urdu. The book details the author’s family history, revealing his father assisted the British Government Agency in Delhi and his grandfather served in Hyderabad. Despite some condition issues, including a repaired tear and worn spine, collectors drove up the price substantially.
