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Lot Essay
The long inscription under the school scene reads "N.28 Palicoudam - Ecole malabare - on apprend aux enfans à former les lettres sur le sable, et quand ils sont plus avancés ils écrivent sur des feuilles de Palmier avec une pointe en fer. Les Ecrivains malabars employés dans les indigotries aux comptes, ecrivent aussi vite que la parole. Toutes les transactions, les contrats de vente, de promesse, les billets obligatoires, se passent sur des aubes (?) semblables au feuilles de Palmiers".
("N.28 Palicoudam - Malabar School- Children are taught to form letters in the sand, when they are more advanced they write on palm leaves with an iron point. Malabar writers working as accountants in Indigo plantations write as quick as they speak. All transactions, sale contracts and deads [...] are written on [...] similar to palm leaves)
Three other illustrations, very probably from the same album, were sold at Christie's South Kensington, 10 June 2013, lot 43.
("N.28 Palicoudam - Malabar School- Children are taught to form letters in the sand, when they are more advanced they write on palm leaves with an iron point. Malabar writers working as accountants in Indigo plantations write as quick as they speak. All transactions, sale contracts and deads [...] are written on [...] similar to palm leaves)
Three other illustrations, very probably from the same album, were sold at Christie's South Kensington, 10 June 2013, lot 43.