Rare Mughal portrait book sold for £16,640, nearly 21 times estimate

Book published in Delhi around 1880 with 56 Mughal royal portraits sells for £16,640 in Scotland, nearly 21 times its estimateA rare book published in Delhi around 1880, featuring 56 photographic portraits of Mughal rulers and royal women, has sold for £16,640 at an auction in Scotland. The book, which offers a visual record of members of the Mughal dynasty, fetched nearly 21 times its highest estimate, more than 146 years after it was published.

According to the official website of UK’s auction house Lyon & Turnbull, the first edition of ‘A History of the Emperors of Delhi in the Mughal Family’ by Munshi Bulaqi Dass was offered as lot 124 in the auction house’s Books and Manuscripts sale on October 1, 2026, in Edinburgh. It had an estimate of £500 to £800 and sold for £16,640.The final price was 20.8 times the upper estimate of £800.

The result was also reported by online platform Rare Book Hub, which noted that the book sold as part of the sale of the Indian library of Dr Raj Krishna.56 portraits made from Mughal miniature paintingsThe book contains 56 photographic portraits of male and female members of the Mughal dynasty. According to the auction description, these are albumen-print photographs made from miniature paintings and mounted in the book as originally issued.

The portraits are accompanied by lithographic captions, also mounted on the pages. Their mounts feature ornamental borders printed in red, adding a decorative frame to each image.The title describes the subjects as “Shahan and Begmats”, referring to the royal men and women represented in the collection. The book’s combination of photographic reproductions and printed captions makes it a record of how Mughal rulers and royal women were represented in the late 19th century.

The volume was printed in Delhi by Mayor Press around 1880. The auction catalogue describes it as a first edition in an original-style black moiré cloth binding decorated with gilt.A rare record of the Mughal dynastyAccording to the official website of the auction house, the book is a “very rare photographic survey” of male and female members of the Mughal dynasty. According to the official listing on the website, no copies had been traced in institutional libraries.

As per the website, Bulaqi Dass published another photographic account of earlier Indian rulers, titled ‘Tawarikh-i Ghuri,’ which covered the Ghurid rulers and the Delhi Sultanate. That work was written in Urdu.The title page of ‘A History of the Emperors of Delhi in the Mughal Family’ provides a brief account of the author’s family background. Bulaqi Dass identified himself as the son of the late Rai Juggan Lal, who had served as assistant private secretary in the British Government Agency in Delhi, and the grandson of Rai Sona Mull, a risaldar in the Nizam’s States in Hyderabad, Deccan.

These details offer a glimpse into the author’s background, while the book itself preserves a collection of royal portraits through the photographic technology available in the 19th century.From a Delhi publication to a Scottish auctionThe book’s journey from its publication in Delhi around 1880 to its sale in Edinburgh in October 2026 spans more than a century and four decades.

Its sale price of £16,640 was substantially higher than the auction house’s estimate of £500 to £800. The result highlights the demand that can exist for rare books documenting India’s royal and cultural history, particularly when they contain extensive visual material. In this case, the volume’s 56 photographic portraits of Mughal rulers and royal women were central to its significance as a historical record.

The auction listing also records condition issues, including a repaired tear to the title page and a worn and repaired spine. Despite these defects, the book sold for more than 20 times its highest estimate.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ testGet the latest Lifestyle News and more. Download the TOI app.