A very rare compendium of first hand accounts of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, published in monthly parts in Calcutta, from May 1859. The knife erasures to the front wrapper remove "Part I" and the date of May 1859, and the price of one rupee. This was presumably done so it could better serve in stead of a title-page, which the parts appear to have been issued without.
The uprising in 1857 was the beginning of the end of the East India Company's rule over the subcontinent (it was dissolved in 1874), and is considered by many to be first step in the journey towards total Indian independence. The war itself didn't officially end until July 1859, by which time the first two parts of this publication had been printed, as such this represents a valuable primary source on an ongoing conflict.
With over 900 pages, it includes a wealth of information. The introduction to the first part suggests that one objective of the compilation was to establish whether the rebellion was as the result of an organised conspiracy between different native Indian groups. As such there are included many of the kinds of rumours (like the idea that the British were mixing ground bones into the flour given to Sikh sepoys) which were indicative of the general mistrust of British rule prevalent at the time. The sources are diverse, including accounts from both white and native soldiers, as well as civilians including women.
This copy belonged to David R. C. Hutchinson, who is listed as the editor of the 1974 reprint of this title. Hutchinson's loosely inserted notes suggest that he was conducting genealogical research on family members who were in the British military in India at the time.
It is remarkably scarce - OCLC finds a copies at SOAS, Harvard and the BL. UC Berkeley have part 2 only (pp.99-192). No copies in Rare Books Hub.
