Costumes of India by D'OYLY, Sir Charles (1781-1845) - 1830

Patna: Behar Lithographic Press, 1830. Oblong 4to. Mounted lithographed title and 12 hand-coloured lithographed plates, on early paper mounts. Later paper wrappers with the original upper titled wrapper trimmed and mounted, unstitched Very rare color plate book of Indian costume from D'Oyly's Behar Lithographic Press. Born in India, Sir Charles D'Oyly was educated in England, before returning to India in the service of the East India Company in 1798. By 1808 he was Collector of Dacca, and in 1818 succeeded to baronet. After serving in a series of posts throughout India, culminating in his appointment as Senior Member of the Board of Customs, Salt and Opium, and of the Marine Board in 1833, he returned to England in 1838, and retired in 1839. He is now best known for his work as an amateur artist, lithographer and publisher in India. D'Oyly became a noted student of George Chinnery, who worked in India between 1802 and 1825. "Chinnery's love of drawing rural India and its people and animals comes through strongly in D'Oyly's work ... [D'Oyly's] work at its best is fresh and charming, and his topographical work has an engaging vividness" (Losty). Lithography came to India in the 1820s and D'Oyly was an early adopter. "In 1824 D'Oyly was the moving spirit in setting up a society of dilettanti called the Behar School of Athens ... for the promotion of the Arts & Sciences, and 'for the circulation of fun and merriment of all descriptions'" (Losty). D'Oyly had ordered a lithographic press from England in 1823, though transporting it to Patna proved difficult, with the first such attempt resulting in the destruction of the press in a squall on the Ganges. A second press was ordered, and was established at Patna named The Behar Amateur Lithographic Press in 1828 (though there is evidence that D'Oyly had access to lithographic stones at an earlier date). "Although [D'Oyly's published works] appear to be regular books in the sense that various copies of them were printed, it is obvious that none of the products of the Behar Lithographic Press was ever published in any commercial sense" (Losty). Abbey concurs, writing: "there seems to be no evidence as to whether D'Oyly sold copies of the Behar Amateur Press Books, or distributed them privately." As a result, all are rare, all vary amongst each other and of those extant, most bear direct association with D'Oyly and his circle. Archer, India Observed , pp. 70-72; Godrej and Rohatgi, Scenic Splendours , pp. 58-60; Jeremiah P. Losty, "Sir Charles D'Oyly's Lithographic Press and his Indian Assistants" in Rohatgi and Godrej, India: A Pageant of Prints , pp. 135-160; Bobins, The Exotic and the Beautiful 235; Not in Abbey.