WD4317

The album contains four original water-colour drawings by Grindlay, and ten drawings by Indian artists (Add.Or.4670-79), with notes and letters relating to the illustrations of the book. The whole album was offered to Lord Elphinstone in 1865 when a biography of Mountstuart Elphinstone was being prepared. The drawings were sent to England in 1813 and subsequently mislaid, see f.1a below. The album also contains documents relating to Grindlay’s journey in 1813 from Bombay to Hyderabad (Deccan), and makes clear that Grindlay’s drawings for Elphinstone’s book were made or worked up in Poona in 1813, see f.1c, where Elphinstone was Resident at the Peshwa’s court 1811-17. In his preface to the book he states Grindlay drew four of his plates ‘from Afghauns just arrived from their own country’. Elphinstone has added plate references to many of these drawings, as well as page references to what must have been his manuscript, as they do not correspond to the first edition of his book. There is in addition visual material relative to the publication of Sir Alexander Burnes’ ‘Travels into Bokhara’, London, 1834, and Sir Harcourt Jones Brydges’ ‘An Account of the Transactions of His Majesty’s Mission to the Court of Persia, in the Years 1807-11, to which is appended a Brief History of the Wahauby’, London, 1834.

Album 43.5 by 35 cm.

Lettered on spine: ‘Original Drawings for Elphinstone’s Caubul: R.M. Grindlay &c.’. On the inside cover: ‘Original drawings of the illustrations to the Embassy to Cabool by the Honble Mountstuart Elphinstone in 1808, offered to Lord Elphinstone April 1865 by Robert Melville Grindlay. Nice,’ followed by the bookplate of Mark Dineley.

Purchased, 1993.

Four water-colour drawings by Grindlay:

f.1a ‘A Dooraunie Villager with his Arms’.

Signed: ‘R.M. Grindlay. Feby. [18]13’ and on the album page below: ‘R.M.G. Affghan Soldier’.

Water-colour; 22.5 by 18 cm.

Note: Elphinstone’s ‘Cabool’, plate VIII, facing p.406.

f.2 ‘An Afghaun of Damaun’.

Signed: ‘R.M. Grindlay’, the rest trimmed, and on the album page below:’ R.M.G. Affghan drawn at Poonah for the Honorable Mountstuart Elphinstone for the work on Cabul 1813’.

Water-colour; 24.5 by 19.8 cm.

Note: Elphinstone’s ‘Cabool’, plate VII, facing p.369.

f.4 ‘An Eusofzye.’

Signed: ‘R.M. Grindlay 1813’, and on the album page below: ‘R.M.G. Affghan’.

Water-colour; 26 by 19.3 cm.

Note: Elphinstone’s ‘Cabool’, plate VI, facing p.347.

f.12 ‘A Hindkee in the Winter Dress of Peshawer. R.M. Grindlay delt. Feb [18]13’ and on the album page: ‘R.M.G. Hindu of Afghanistan’.

Water-colour; 23.5 by 17 cm.

Note: Elphinstone’s ‘Cabool’, plate V, facing p.316.

Manuscript material:

f.1b A letter from Longman Rees: ‘Paternoster Row Jan 27, 1834 Messrs Longman, Rees & Co present their compliments to Captain Grindlay, and, if he will favour Mr Rees with a call, he will shew him the drawings he has belonging to Mr Elphinstone’s Caubul, and deliver to him such as may belong to him’. This is followed by a note in Grindlay’s hand: ‘these drawings were sent to England in 1813 & remained mislaid 21 years’.

f.1c An envelope addressed to Captain Grindlay in London stamped Calcutta 1837 with seal impressions from Murshidabad 1832.

f.1d Letter from Grindlay to a Miss Dempster, dated Nice 10 April 1865: ‘I send you the original drawings of the illustrations for the work on Cabool by that great & good man the late Mountstuart Elphinstone. I had the pleasure of contributing four of the figures: portraits which I took of the original Natives residing at Poonah at the time of my visit to that city in Company with Lady Hood (afterwards Honble. Mrs Stewart Mackenzie)’. There follows a brief account of their visit to Poona, while there is also an extract from Grindlay’s journal describing the beginning of the journey from Bombay to Poona. The letter continues: ‘The biography of Mountstuart Elphinstone which you tell me is about to be published cannot fail to be most interesting and important and I shall feel greatly pleased if the drawings and memoranda I send can in anyway be useful to it’. The letter ends with a discussion of Elphinstone’s portraits.

f.3 Notes by Grindlay and Elphinstone on details to be used in his drawings of Afghans, dated from the Residency, Poona, February 1813.

f.6va Document in Gujarati dated Sam.1870 (AD1814) concerning Captain Grindlay, inscribed above: ‘Document in the Guzeratti language Camp 1814’.

f.6vb English translation of a Persian letter headed ‘Maulavi’s letter from the Cape’ addressed to Captain Grindlay expressing good wishes etc. On the reverse the name of the sender ‘Muhammad Ismael Khan, Ambassador from the King of Oude’.

f.7b Document in Persian inscribed ‘Firmaun of the Nizam to pass through hisTerritory. Firman or Passport of the Nizam Hyderabad 1813. On my visit to Elphinstone’.

f.7c Document in Marathi inscribed: ‘Firmaun of the Peshwa. Passport of the Peshwa Poona 1813. On my leaving Elphinstone’.

f.7vc A letter from Burnes to Grindlay about the engraving of the view of Hyderabad, f.5 above, ending: ‘How get on the lithographs - I wish my Baneean idols done by the same hand if possible. Give me your advice on how I can get the sketch touched up’.

f.7d A subsequent letter from Burnes to Grindlay complaining of no answer to the previous letter and suggesting Louis Haghe could make a good sketch for him as well as do the lithography.

Note: The drawing on f.7v may then be Haghe’s reworking of an original sketch possibly by Burnes himself. It seems unlikely that it could be Grindlay’s work.

f.8v Letter to Captain and Mrs. Grindlay dated Bombay 1842 from a Parsi friend, informing them of the writer’s safe return to Bombay and sending best wishes etc. The writer may have been with the Parsi shipbuilders Jehangeer Nowrojee and Hirjeebhoy Merwanjee, son and nephew respectively of Nowrojee Jamshetjee, Master Ship Builder at the Bombay Dockyard, who visited England 1839-41. See f.9v.

f.17i,j Letter in Persian to Grindlay with an English translation from Prince Reza Kuli talking about their meeting in England and the Grindlays’ kindness to him.

f.17k,l Letter in Persian to Grindlay with an English translation dated Constantinople 7 December 1836 from Assad Kayat, secretary(?) to the Persian princes, informing him of their arrival in that city and their plans for the onward journey to Persia.