From Gandhi's newsletter to calendar dedicated to Bose, collectibles from Indian freedom struggle to be auctioned online
The auction has a range of books authored by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Hugh Toye amongst well-known editors like Pyarelal, Amal Home and Bankim Chandra Sen.
)
Timed around Republic Day, Prinseps Auction House is set to host their first ‘No Reserve’ online book auction from 20-26 January 2020. The auction will carry a selection of books, newsletters and documents by luminaries of the Indian freedom struggle as a thoughtful celebration of the country’s legacy of extraordinary political leadership and the journey to Indian Independence, documented in this collection of seminal literary works. In the picture: 1946 calendar dedicated to Netaji Subhas Bose by Shiri Talashilkar | Printed by New Jack Printing Works Ltd, Bombay. Published by SM Wagle, Bombay.
)
Covers of the Bengali magazine Desh featuring Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their 1948 and 1941 editions respectively. Bankim Chandra Sen was the editor of the coveted magazine then. The above volumes are from Rathindranath Tagore and Mira Chatterjee’s collection | Published by Ananda Bazar Patrika Ltd, Calcutta. Written in Bengali.
)
Named after the Harijan movement that Mahatma Gandhi started, the weekly newsletter written in Hindi aimed at dismantling the concept of untouchability in India at the time. The Hindi edition of the Harijan was named Harijan Sevak. It was first published on the 23 February, 1933 and was the same size as the English edition | Volume 17, no. 1 -52. Written in Hindi.
)
Matribhumi, the Bengali magazine whose erstwhile editor was the noted Bengali Indian poet, essayist, journalist Sudhindranath Dutta, had a special issue in the year 1948 (as shown in the left) dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi | Published by Matribhumi Press, Calcutta. Dated February 1948. Written in Bengali.
)
Shyam Sunder Lal Agrawal was a well-known publisher in Kanpur and was responsible for many nationalist posters during the 1940s. Most of his posters were confiscated by the British and very few posters remain today. The poster of Sardar Vallabhai Patel (left) is another print published by Shyam Sunder Lal. The original work was made by Rup Kishor Kapur; his works were regularly engraved and printed by Shyam Sunder Lal at Kanpur (then called Cawnpore) which was a hub for printing presses during 1930. (Right) Another print by Shyam Sundar Lal featuring Sarojini Naidu | Published by Shyam Sunder Lal Agrawal, Picture publisher, Chowk, Cawnpore. Edited and printed by The Job Press, Cawnpore.
)
The Calcutta Municipal Gazette: 23rd Anniversary and Independence Commemoration Number, signed by Amal Home and gifted to Pulin Behari Sen. Additional signature by Pulin Behari Sen. This volume is also from Rathindranath Tagore and Mira Chatterjee’s collection | December 1947 issue. Published by Office of the Registrar of Newspapers, Calcutta. Pulin Behari was in charge of the publishing department at Santiniketan.
)
The Calcutta Municipal Gazette: 23rd Anniversary and Independence Commemoration Number by Amal Home, featuring a photograph of Rabindranath Tagore taken in 1906 at the height of the Swadeshi Movement. | Printed by Reproduction Syndicate, 7-1 Cornwallis Street, Calcutta.
)
A page from Jawaharlal Nehru’s autobiography titled Towards Freedom, featuring Mahatma Gandhi, is also part of the online auction. Towards Freedom: The Autobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru and The Discovery of India was written when he was imprisoned. A Bunch of Old Letters is a compilation of correspondence to and from him. All of these books give an insight into Nehru’s life before he became the Prime Minister of India| Published by the John Day Company, New York. Dedicated to Kamala. Ninth edition.
 "Charlie Kirk, shot dead in Utah, once said gun deaths are 'worth it' to save Second Amendment")
 "From governance to tourism, how Gen-Z protests have damaged Nepal")
 "Did Russia deliberately send drones into Poland’s airspace?")
 "Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages: Qatar PM after Doha strike")
 "Charlie Kirk, shot dead in Utah, once said gun deaths are 'worth it' to save Second Amendment")
 "From governance to tourism, how Gen-Z protests have damaged Nepal")
 "Did Russia deliberately send drones into Poland’s airspace?")
 "Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages: Qatar PM after Doha strike")
Top Shows
