98-99 / 310
25
4 BOOKS ON CHUGHTAI WITH 115
PLATES IN ALL
CHUGHTAI'S INDIAN PAINTINGS
Thirty-five plates in all - Twenty-seven in colours and the
rest in monochromes
Some paintings were specially made by Chughtai for this
book.
Foreword by Dr Tara Chand/ Introduction and notes by
Principal S. Kashmira Singh
New Delhi: Dhoomi Mal Dharam Das
1951
Pp 21 +35 full-page tipped plates with tissue guards
carrying extensive commentaries
Size: 15.5 x 12 inches
In addition there are 8 small b&w tipped-in plates based
on Chughtai's line drawings in the Introduction
The text also has one-page note byChughtai and one-
page note by the Publisher
Bound in black buckram with a b&w line drawing and
the title-ticket pasted on cover and with a chipped but
complete dustjacket which is rarely to be found.
Size: 15.5 x 12 inches
The Dhoomimal Gallery of Delhi was the first to bring
out a regular stream of monographs on Indian artists
beginning 1943. Its owner RamBabu, a wealthy stationery
dealer who had turned to promoting Indian art and artists
as a passion and also owned a printing press,sincerely
believed in upholding production values. Thus, for
CHUGHTAI'S INDIAN PAINTINGS, the Pakistani artist's
only book printed in India and outside his private press,
he got Chughtaito write a preface and brought it out as
an elephant folio matching the size, format, binding style
and cover of CHUGHTAI'S PAINTINGS, which the artist
had first issued in Lahore around 1938. Ram Babu even
printed wall posters to promote the book, something
unheard of even today.
CHUGHTAI'S PAINTINGS
Thirty-nine Plates in all - Thirty-four Plates in colours, the
rest in monochromes
Foreword by Dr. James H. Cousins/ Introduction and
critical annotations by Mrs. Razia Siraj-ud-Din.br.Lahore
(India): Jahangir Book Club, Chabuk Sawaran
Size: 12x 10 inches
No date but c. 1940 and First Edition thus
Pp 24 + 39 tipped-in plates with tissue guards carrying
the title
Bound in black buckram with a b&w line drawing and
the title-ticket pasted on cover.
CONDITION: A good copy but the front cover is
discoloured
MURAQQA-i-CHUGHTAI
Paintings of M. A. Rahman Chughtai
With full text of Diwan-i-Ghalib
Foreword by Dr Sir Mohammad Iqbal
Introduction by Dr James H Cousins
WITH 30 FULL-PAGE PLATES and both Englishand Urdu
title-pages
LAHORE: Print Printo
No date but reprinted in the 1970s by Chughtai himself
since he owned Print Printo. He had originally published
it in 1928.
Size: 11.5 x 9inches
Of the 30 plates, 25 are in colour printed on art paper
and 5 are full-page b&w line drawings. In addition, the
title-page and a page further on have multicoloured
geometrical designs around the Urdu text. Two pages
before the Urdu title-page too have Islamic calligraphic
designs. Endpapers are printed in silver design. Each Urdu
page printed in green ink with the text enclosed within
yellow geometric pattern.
Foreword [pp. 3] and Introduction [pp. 3] dated 1928 in
English, the restin Urdu script [pp. 120]
CONDITION: A nice copy boundin maroon cloth with
gilt title and ornamentation on cover. No dustjacket.
NAQSHA -i-CHUGHTAI
pp. 111 with 6 colour plates, 14 b&w plates and 2 line
drawings
Text entirely in Urdu.br.LAHORE: Print Printo
1967
Originally published in 1935, this is the 1967 reprint by
Chughtai himself with more plates than the original
edition.
Size: 9 x 7.5 inches
In addition to the plates it has 2 pages with highly
colourful and ornamental designs and each page has the
text in black surrounded by yellow geometrical design.
Hardback with gilt design on cover.
Like Muraqqa-i-Chughtai, this also relates to Ghalib's
poetry but is far more scarce. The only time it appeared
inan auction house was in Bowring's Delhi auction on 20
November 2002, Lot 28.
Rs 1,60,000-Rs 2,00,000
$2,465-$3,080