Fundamental history of the British Indian Navy to 1863

Low, Charles Rathbone. History of the Indian Navy (1613-1863).

€ 2,500.00

First edition, uncommon in the cloth. Forms the basis for studies of campaigns and exploration wherever the Bombay Marine operated: in the Red Sea, the Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Laccadives, Maldives and west coast of India, the Andamans, Java and Burma. Of primary importance as a record of the history of the British presence in the Gulf, where the Bombay Marine served as police force, mail carrier, ethnographer, surveyor and, when necessary, strike force for over three centuries - in particular in the period when British relations with the Gulf sheikhdoms were being consolidated. Includes detailed accounts of hydrographic surveys by the Indian Navy, including those in the Gulf. Never surpassed as a history of the maritime arm of India's foreign policy.

Engraved bookplates of the Royal Artillery Library, Woolwich, to the front pastedowns with manuscript annotations of their receipt in April 1878; small paper press-mark labels above. Extremeties slightly rubbed, light browning, but overall a very good set.