An Indian Album, Ex Libris Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler
[Ex Libris Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler] Beaton, Cecil. An Indian Album. First Edition. 1945. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition—jacket shows small edge tears and very light fraying. This copy is from the library of Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler. Their initials are written on the upper right corner of the flyleaf, “GW – MW.”
World War II gave Cecil Beaton the opportunity to prove himself outside the world of fashion, and he did. This book is a collection of over seventy-five photogravure plates taken in India working for the Royal War Ministry. He was there covering the war effort, but the subjects here go well beyond that, including the Maharanee of Jaipur, an exclusive colonial club Bombay, Hindu temples, street merchants, Ram Ghopal dancers, etc.
“The number of holidays in India surprised me. Although Hindus and Moslems [have antipathy] for each other, they enjoy each other’s holidays.”
--Cecil Beaton