FIRST EDITION. Large oblong folio, 12 hand-coloured aquatint plates, with colour washed borders by John William Edy, after Colebrook. Dedication and subscribers list (two names entered in MS, one ordering 6 copies), leaf of descriptive text to accompany each plate. MS signature (semi-legible) 'W. Hartly' (?) to dedication leaf. 19th century half brown morocco over marbled boards, preserved in a modern burgundy coloured cloth box, with a matching brown leather title label to upper cover and spine. Robert Colebrook was the first great Sanskrit scholar of Europe. He was the son of Sir George Colebrook, the head of an old firm of bankers. He served in the East India Company for 32 years; however, he was happy to leave Calcutta and be appointed assistant collector at Tirhut in 1786. He made a minute study of the state of husbandry in Bengal, his findings being privately printed in 1795. It opposed the renewal of the company's monopoly and advocated free-trade principles. The work gave offense to the directors and was not published in England. By the time Colebrook arrived in Nagpur in 1799, events had forestalled him; Seringapatam had fallen, and Tippoo Sultan was dead, and the jealousy and suspicion of the Mahrattas had been so excited by the proceedings of the English in the distribution of the Mysore dominions that any attempts at reconciliation were useless, and an alliance was out of the question. Colebrook was sent to Mysore to carry out Marquis Wellesley's policy by inducing the Rajah of Berar to join the defensive alliance with the Company against the power of Scindia, who threatened Tippoo Sultan. Colebrook left Nagpur in 1801 with a sense of failure. Coloured plates in order: 1. The Mausoleum of Hyder Aly Khan at Laulbaug. 2. South West View of Ootra-Durgum. 3. North View of Sewan-droog shewing the Attack in Dec 1791. 4. Prospect of the Country near Mooty Tallaow. 5. East View of Bangalore. 6. South View of Sewan-droog. 7. North-West View of Nandy-droog. 8. The Lake of Mooty Tallaow near Seringapatam. 9. Pagodas at Maugry, with a distant view of Sewan-droog. 10. West View of Ramgherry. 11. East View of Seringapatam. 12. Northwest View of Seringapatam.