‘Decisions are driven more by significance than hype’: How India collects rare, antiquarian books
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Memoirs of India, an emporium of rare and antiquarian books, was started by Rajiv Jain in 1967. The emporium is now managed by Rishabh Jain and Rashi Jain Dugar, the third-generation of the family associated with the venture.
In addition to selling rare books, Memoirs of India also helps customers with valuation, restoration, binding, and fine framing. The family provides “counsel on all aspects of book collecting and related pursuits.” They have also been able to build an extraordinary collection of original first editions, signed copies, art, plate books and fine binding sets of incomparable quality. Along with literary titles, there are rare and antiquarian maps, as well as books in natural history, travel and exploration, architecture, politics, economics, philosophy, medicine, archaeology, and more genres to be found here. A vast collection of colonial era writings by the likes of Thomas and William Daniel, John Gould, William Hodges, Alex Soltykoff, Henry Salt, and James Fraser, among others holds a prime place in the emporium’s collection.
Today, Memoirs of India is among the largest of its kind in India. With the launch of an e-commerce site, the rare books have found takers across the world. In a conversation with Scroll, Rishabh Jain talked...