THE HISTORY OF BRITISH INDIA, in Six Volumes (Complete)

London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1826. Hard Cover. Fair binding. Octavo. Volume I: iv, xxxv, [1], 450; II: iv, 463, [1]; III: iv, 571, [1]; IV: iv, 508; V:iv, 546; VI: iv, [2], 631, [1] pp., maps. Third edition. As issued in publisher's cloth; spines sunned with printed paper labels; two folding maps: the large "Map of Hindoostan" in Volume I is hand colored; the folding map of Persia, Afghanistan, etc. is not. A serviceable set, only, with chipped labels, strained joints and hinges; early repair and reinforcement; ex-society library with book plates on the pastedown; blind stamps on the title pages and shelf marking; bindings are generally stained and show evidence of moisture exposure; endpapers are also stained with notable tidelines; this staining is limited to the endpapers, front and rear, and only occasionally does it affect the adjacent leaves; largely a clean set; map in Volume I has an early mend to the verso; the map in Volume II is toned; and despite enumerating all its faults, it is definitely a serviceable set and not without a certain appeal on the shelf.

A best-seller at the time of its publication and still widely studied, this influential work provides a critical examination of the British presence in India, along with the general account of the country and its religions, government, law, arts, and economy. The author was a prominent Scottish Utilitarian economist, philosopher, and ally to Jeremy Bentham's; he freely acknowledged never having visited India himself. This is the third edition, following the first of 1817; the set is in the publi.