Created by Julie Goucher, 2023

The web-Wednesday site for this week is:

Rare Book Society of India

This is a fascinating and very unusual site that is of use to genealogists and historians alike, with an interest in India.

The site is providing an online virtual presence embracing the material from digital libraries such as Google Books & the Internet Archive, articles and essays as well as various collections located at museums and alike from around the world. What this achieves, is a show case of Indian books, prints and arts that have been digitised and placed in an easy accessible manner for all to utilise. It is not just old and out of print material that is available. The site also collates various Facebook posts and links to books that are still in print and available on sites such as Amazon, although those book links automatically divert to Amazon India.

A simple search function is available, but the core substance of material essentially covers the following themes:

• Natural history in India,
• Kingdoms of India, various sections covering each of the following religions, Islam, Christianity, Sikhs & their religion & history, Hinduism and Buddhism in India.
• The India Independence movement
• History of Mysore
• Cartography in India, Dutch, French and Portuguese in India
• The Grand Mughals 1526 -1857
• Military history of India
• Indian cities through the ages
• India & its Royalty
• Ancient India up to 1200 CE
• Arts in India through either paintings, photography, sculptures, dance and treasures
• Travel literature of colonial India
• India as seen by foreign travellers,
• The Honourable East India Company.

I have researched my Honourable East India ancestors over the last twenty years or so and a quick search of the surname Bowring which is one of several names in this region I am researching revealed a book written by Lewin Bentham Bowring which I had been previously unaware of.

Image of the website Rare Book Society of India

This is overall a fascinating website that harnesses together all these different strands of life in India both before and after British rule and enables us to garnish our genealogy and family history bring it to life in some rather fascinating ways.

PLEASE NOTE:- The website does give a caution message on several anti-virus software, but it is perfectly safe, I checked the site on 8 Jan 2024.