A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s5: V. Editions of Grant Duff's Work
A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s5
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V. Editions of Grant Duff's Work
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The following editions of Grant Duff's *History of the Mahrattas* have been published.
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I. London, 1826, 3 vols., 8vo.
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A History of The Mahrattas by James Grant Duff, Esq. Captain in the First, or Grenadier, Regiment of Bombay, Native Infantry, and Late Political Resident at Satara.
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In three volumes. London : printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, Paternoster Row. 1826.
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[Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode, New Street Square; Dedication to the Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor &c. &c. of Bombay. Preface dated London, May 30, 1826, and Contents, pp. vii–xxxii. Frontispiece, ‘Mausoleum of Ibrahim Adil Khan at Beejapoor,’ drawn by Lieutenant W. W. Dowell, Bombay Army, engraved by Edward Finden. On page xxxii are illustrations of Sivājī’s sword and scabbard, and a Vāghnak (tiger’s claw), with the following note beneath them: ‘The above is a representation of Bhowanee, the famous Sword of Sivajee; and of a Wagnuck, the instrument with which he murdered the General of the Beejapoor Army. The Vignette at the top of the index at the end of Vol. III represents the Sikka Kutar, or grand state seal of the Mahratta Empire: both the sword and the seal were taken from the originals at Sātāra.’ Text pp. 1–571. Facing page 1 is ‘A Map of India showing the ancient divisions of the Deccan.’]
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Vol. II, pp. 1–483. Frontispiece, a picture of ‘Raigurh,’
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drawn by Lieutenant Athill, Bombay Engineers, engraved by Edward Finden. Contents, pp. v–xix. Inserted between p. xix and p. 1 of text a folded map of ‘Mahārāshtra, reduced from a map of six inches to a degree, compiled principally from Original and recent Surveys by Captain Henry Adams of the Bombay Army for Captain Grant Duff’s History of the Mahrattas.’
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Vol. III. Contents, pp. v–xx; text, 1–501; index, 503–37. Frontispiece, picture of Sātāra, drawn by Mrs. Colonel Shuldham, Bombay, engraved by Edward Finden. Below index, on p. 537, a woodcut representing a Marāthā cavalryman mounted.]
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II. (a) In the letter mentioned above from Grant Duff to E. H. Goldsmid, dated January 30, 1846, the author writes: ‘As to a second edition, about ten years ago (i.e. 1836), in consequence of repeated suggestions on the subject—for I had individually no pleasure in recurring to it—I wrote to the publishers, Longman & Co.; but their reply was not so encouraging as to induce me to begin re-casting many ill-written passages, which I sometimes thought of, but had always some more immediate object of interest or business.
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‘I am aware that it cannot be purchased even of booksellers; but even if the publishers now wished it, I should be much more inclined—though I could not now be bothered rewriting it—to publish a second edition, on testimonials such as yours than from any other consideration whatever.’
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It appears from these extracts that the author himself did not undertake the publication of a second edition.
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(b) On page iii of the preface to the edition published in 1912 by Cambray & Co., Calcutta, it is stated that ‘The History was translated into Mahratti by Captain (afterwards General Sir David) Capon (Bombay, 1830).’ No copy of this Marāthī edition has been traced.
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(c) A second edition is stated, on page iii of the preface to the Calcutta edition of 1912, to have been published at Bombay in 1863. The preface of the third edition, reprinted in the fourth edition of 1876, leads one to infer that the second edition was in three volumes, printed at Bombay, and probably published by the Times of India. This is partly corroborated by item No. 243 in a catalogue of books for sale by Francis Edwards, High Street, Marylebone (March 1915, No. 349), in which the work is described as ‘Bombay Reprint, 3 vols., 8vo., cloth, 1863, £1 5s.’¹ I have failed to obtain a copy of this edition for scrutiny. III. Bombay, 1873, 1 vol., 8vo.
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¹ Dr. Vincent A. Smith, C.I.E., kindly brought this entry to my notice.
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History of The Mahrattas by James Grant Duff, Esq. Captain in the 1st Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry & late Political Resident at Satara. Third Edition. Complete in one volume. Bombay : Published at the Times of India Office. London : 121 & 200 Fleet Street. 1873.
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[This edition is collated as follows: Dedication, 1 leaf; contents, pp. v–xxvi; preface, xxvii–xxxi; preface to present edition, pp. xxxiii–xxxv; text, pp. 1–686; index, pp. 687–710. The preface to this third edition, which is reprinted in the fourth edition and is undated, expresses a hope ‘that the work being now presented in one volume, and at a much lower price than any previous edition, will secure for it a far wider circle of readers than it ever before obtained. The preface also includes ‘the chief portion of a letter from the author, written in his retirement, in reply to a note, urging the publication of a new edition from his friend, Mr. E. H. Goldsmid, the eminent Bombay Civilian . . . &c.,’ and expresses the indebtedness of the publishers for the use of this letter ‘to Mr. James Taylor, Honorary Secretary to the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, whose “Note on Grant Duff’s History,” comprising the extract we now give, appears in No. xxviii of the Society’s Transactions, now passing through the press.’ This edition is also rare.]
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IV. Bombay, 1878, 2 vols., 8vo.
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History of The Mahrattas (title as in edition of 1873) Fourth Edition. Complete in two volumes. Bombay: Published at the *Times of India* Office. London: 121 Fleet Street, E.C. 1878.
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[Vol. I. Original dedication as in 1826 and 1873 editions; author's preface, pp. v–xi; preface to third edition reprint, pp. xiii–xvii (see remarks under 1873 edition, above); contents, pp. v–xxviii; text, 1–718.
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Vol. II. Contents, pp. v–xxv; text, pp. 1–620. Chapter I of this volume is the same as Chapter IX of Vol. II of the 1826 edition. The index, pp. 621–61, is a reproduction, so far as the headings are concerned, of the index of the 1826 edition. This reprint is also scarce.]
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V. Calcutta, 1912, 3 vols., 8vo.
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A History (title as in edition of 1826) With copious notes. In three volumes. Calcutta: Published by — R. Cambray and Co. Law Booksellers & Publishers, 9 Hastings Street. 1912.
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[Vol. I. Dedication of this edition ‘to His Excellency Brevet-Colonel the Honourable Sir George Sydenham Clarke, &c., Governor of Bombay’; introduction by the annotator, B. A. Gupte; preface to present edition, including a brief memoir of author, pp. i–iv, dated Calcutta, July 1, 1912; preface to original edition, pp. a–f; contents, pp. i–xii; text, pp. 1–466; appendix, pp. i–xvi, at end of volume, containing scattered notes signed B. A. Gupte. Frontispiece to this volume, portrait of Captain James C. Grant Duff, stated at the end of the preface (p. iv) to have been obtained from his grandson, Mr. E. M. Grant Duff, H.B.M.’s Consul-General for Hungary.
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Vol. II. After contents (pp. v–xix) comes a very poor reproduction of the engraving of Raigarh in Vol. II of original edition of 1826, without acknowledgement of source; text, pp. 1–483; appendix at end of volume, pp. i–xvi, containing scattered notes signed as above.
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Vol. III. After contents, text, pp. 1–501; index, pp. 503–34; appendix, pp. i–iv.
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This is a very poor reprint. Misprints are so numerous as to justify the belief that the proof-sheets were never revised; the notes in the appendices are very inadequate, and in most cases bear no direct relation to the text.]
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Copies of the 1st (1826), 3rd (1873) and 5th (1912) editions are in the library of the British Museum; the London Library contains the 3rd (1873) edition; and the Indian Institute at Oxford is reported to contain Vol. I of the 4th (1878) edition. The Bodleian Library has the original (1826) edition. The latter institution, it may be noted, contains also (2591 d. 20 (6) D) *A catalogue of J. Grant Duff’s Library to be sold along with that of J. Adam on July 6, 1888. London, 1888. 8vo.*