BNPS.co.uk (01202 5598833)
PIc: Bloomsbury/BNPS

***Please use full byline***

The Round Tower, Fort Hyderabad

An incredible collection of some of the earliest ever sketches of India have emerged for sale for £12,000.

The images were drawn up in 1843 by Lieutenant William Edwards while he was posted to the country during the British invasion.

The 10 stunning pictures show magnificent forts and buildings, bleak terrain, and general Indian life at that time.

The drawings were reproduced for a commercial book by Charles Haghe who also added colour and made special lithographs of each picture for a deluxe version.

It is believed only around 100 of these limited edition books featuring the colour plates were printed at the time.

Edwards presented a copy of the deluxe book, named 'Sketches in Scinde', to the mother of William Cornish, who was a military doctor at the time.

The 171 year old book has been owned by a private collector who has now decided to sell it.

It is expected to fetch £12,000 when it goes under the hammer at Bloomsbury Auctions in London.