FRANCKLIN (William). The History of the reign of Shah-Aulum, - Lot 78

FRANCKLIN (William). The History of the reign of Shah-Aulum, the present Emperor of Hindostaun. Containing the transactions of the court of Delhi, and the neighbouring States, during a period of thirty-six years London, Cooper & Graham, 1798. In-4, XX-(4)-254 p., contemporary boards, smooth spine, handwritten title, untrimmed (boards very rubbed, top board unbound, title page torn but not missing, browning and stains). First edition. Illustrated with a large folding map of Hindustan and 4 engraved portraits based on Mughal paintings. William Francklin (1763-1839), an officer in the army of the East India Company (1783-1814), spent eight months in Persia and made several trips between that country and India. The history of Shah-Aulum's reign is based, as the author writes in the preface, on information gathered during his long stays in Persia and India, and from the reading of several Persian manuscripts.