Bound volume, ca. 1840s, containing 39 Punjab or Sikh mica paintings of various types of trades-people de (R. E. Burrowes)

Hardcover. Very Good. Quarto volume in half morocco, measuring 10.75 x 8.5 inches, containing 39 mounted paintings on thin transparent mica, each measuring 4.5 x 3 inches. These were collected by R. E. Burrowes, Bourton Court (Somerset); he was engaged at the Punjab Campaign and was active in the 1st and 2nd sieges of Mooltan, where he was wounded twice in late 1848 and early 1849; he was also active in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. These are likely from the Punjab region and acquired when he was there in the late 1840s. Very rare and in very good condition. Mica paintings were produced in many parts of India, were an important feature of the tourist trade in the mid 19th century, but because of their brittleness are very rare on the market. This is an exceptional group.