1812, An Historical Disquisition Concerning..India, W. Robertson, LEATHER 2 MAPS

Description: Fully titled, An Historical Disquisition Concerning the Knowledge Which the Ancients Had of India; And the Progress of Trade With That Country Prior to the Discovery of the Passage to it by the Cape of Good Hope. First published in 1791 in London, this is the FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, from the Fifth London Edition. Authored by William Robertson, published by John Bioren & Tho. L. Plowman in 1812. ORIGINAL LEATHER BOARDS which remain solidly attached. Original red spine label with gilt letters. 2 FOLD-OUT MAPS IN FRONT IN GOOD CONDITION, with foxing as expected, no tears in the folds, no marks. The maps are solidly attached to the binding, as published. The first map is missing most of the blank border of the left about half-way down. This looks to be a publishing error, not a tear as the edges along this missing section are sharp. The second map has a tear at the spine of the book. Both of these issues can be seen in listing photos. Pages are clean and solidly bound, with light to moderate foxing throughout, 384 pages followed by an unpaginated 18-page Index. There is a stain on page edges extending into the pages starting faintly at about page 300 extending to the end of the book. One listing photo shows the page edges where the stain can be seen on page edges, and two listing photos show the stain at page 344 and then at the end. All text is clear. I am unsure if it is a dark foxing stain or a moisture impact. There is no odor to the book. Here is an abstract of an article published in 2009 in the Scottish Historical Review titled, "William Robertson, Early Orientalism, and the Historical Disquisition on India of 1791" : "In 1791, the celebrated Scottish historian, William Robertson, published his final work, An Historical Disquisition concerning the Knowledge which the Ancients had of India, in which he explored the commercial and cultural connections of India and the West from ancient times to the end of the fifteenth century. This article considers Robertson's Historical Disquisition within the contexts of the Scottish Enlightenment, the early British ‘orientalist’ movement, and the expansion of British dominion in India. It argues that while the work reflected the assumptions and approaches of the British orientalist school, Robertson – sensitive to criticisms that his previous History of America had been too dismissive of Amerindian cultures – went further than many orientalists in his positive portrayal of Indian culture and his opposition to an interventionist imperial policy. Indeed, the work was largely directed to preserving the ancient and sophisticated Indian civilisation from Western cultural imperialism. The article further suggests that Robertson's favourable view of what he perceived as monotheist beliefs underlying ‘classical’ Hinduism reveals much about his own religious attitudes as a clergyman and leader of the ‘moderate’ party in the Church of Scotland. His history of India would be under-valued in Britain (despite its large sales), in large part because his apology for Hinduism and his critique of Christian missions ran counter to the rising tide of the evangelical revival. However, it had a considerable role in promoting interest in India on the European continent, and it represented one of the more significant achievements of the late Scottish Enlightenment." B33

Price: 100 USD

Location: Burtonsville, Maryland

End Time: 2024-11-24T23:46:22.000Z

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