Bombay (Presidency)

An administrative subdivision of British India. The Bombay Presidency covered much of western and central India, as well as parts of Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.

See Presidencies in the Beginners' Guide.

Maps

• 1850 Map of the Diocese of Bombay The Colonial Church Atlas 3rd Edition 1850. National Library of Australia Digital Collections-Maps Catalogue entry
• 1931: Bombay Presidency northern section Imperial Gazetteer
  
• 1931: Bombay Presidency southern section Imperial Gazetteer

External links

• Bombay Presidency 1608-1756 Google Books
• Bombay Presidency Wikipedia
• Maharashtra State Gazetteers Department: List of Online Gazetteers Now an archived website. However, the Gazetteers still are accessible. Many are of editions available below.

Historical books online

Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency
All volumes are from Archive.org.

• Volume 1, Part 1, History of Gujarat 1896
• Volume 1, Part 2, History of the Konkan, Dakhan and Southern Maratha Country 1896
• Volume 2 Gujarat, Surat and Broach 1877
• Volume 3 Kaira and Panch Mahals 1879
• Volume 4 Ahmedabad 1879
• Volume 5, Cutch, Palanpur and Mahi Kantha 1883
• Volume 6 Rewa Kantha, Narukot, Cambay and Surat States 1880
• Volume 7 Baroda 1883 Archive.org mirror version 1, or Archive.org mirror version 2, originally from Digital Library of India.
• Volume 8 Kathiawar 1884
• Volume 9 Part 1 Gujarat Population Hindus 1901
• Volume 9 Part 2 Gujarat Population Musalmans and Parsis 1899
• Volume 10 Ratnagiri and Savantvadi 1880
• Volume 11, Kolaba and Janjira 1883
• Volume 12, Khandesh 1880
• Volume 13 Thana 1882
• Volume 13, Part 2 Thana 1882
• Volume 14 Thana Places of Interest 1882
• Volume 15, Part 1, Kanara 1883
• Volume 15, Part 2, Kanara 1893
• Volume 16, Nasik 1883
• Volume 17, Ahmadnagar 1884
• Volume 18, Part 1 Poona 1885
• Volume 18, Part 2 Poona 1885
• Volume 18, Part 3, Poona 1885
• Volume 19 Satara 1885
• Volume 20, Sholapur 1884
• Volume 21 Belgaum 1884
• Volume 22 Dharwar 1884
• Volume 23 Bijapur 1884
• Volume 24 Kolhapur 1886
• Volume 25 Botany 1886
• Volume 26, Part 1 Materials towards a statistical account of the Town and Island of Bombay - History 1893
• Volume 26, Part 2 Materials towards a statistical account of the Town and Island of Bombay - Trade and Fortifications 1894
• Volume 26, Part 3 Materials towards a statistical account of the Town and Island of Bombay - Administration 1894
• Volume 27 General Index 1904

Imperial Gazetteer of India Provincial Series 1908

• Imperial Gazetteer of India Provincial Series: Bombay Presidency Vol.I
• Imperial Gazetteer of India Provincial Series: Bombay Presidency Vol. II. Archive.org, mirror files originally from Digital Library of India.

Other

• A Gazetteer of the Province of Sind by AW Hughes 1876 Archive.org
• The following volumes were originally available on the Digital Library of India website, now with mirror editions on Archive.org: Gazetteer of the Province of Sind by EH Aitken 1907. Archive.org version. This publication contains matters of a permanent character and general interest. ('A' volume) There are also additional 'B' volumes (probably seven) containing statistical tables and matters of local interest, published in 1919 and 1926-1928.

Volume I- Karachi District 1919 Archive.org; Volume II- Hyderabad District, 1927 Archive.org version; Volume III -Sukkur District 1919 Archive.org version; 1928 Archive.org version; Volume IV- Larkana District, 1927 Archive.org version; Volume V- Nawabshah District 1926 Archive.org version; Volume VI-Thar and Parkar District 1919 Archive.org version. (Not available online: B Volume VII Upper Sind Frontier District, but it is available at the British Library IOR/V/27/63/110).

• British Beginnings in Western India, 1579-1657: An account of the early days of the British factory of Surat by H.G. Rawlinson 1920 Archive.org
• How Bombay was Ceded by J H Gense S J, PhD (St. Xavier's College, Bombay) published c 1939. Archive.org. The Treaties of 1661 and 1665.
• A History of the Mahrattas: To which is Prefixed an Historical Sketch of the Decan… by Edward Scot Waring 1810 Archive.org.
• The Road Book of India; or, East Indian traveller's guide through the presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay by John B Seely, Captain Bombay Army. 1825 Google Books. Contains many place names.
• Itinerary and directory for Western India, being a collection of routes through the provinces subject to the Presidency of Bombay by Captain John Clunes 1826 (archive.org)
• '"On the Statistics of Dukhun [Deccan]: Special Report on the Statistics of the four Collectorates of Dukhun, under the British Government": Poona, Ahmednuggur, Candeish or Khandesh, and Dharwar Collectorates page 217 Report of the Seventh Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 1838 Google Books. Details of plants, animals, birds etc
• Statistics of the Colonies of the British Empire from the Official Records of the Colonial Office by Robert Montgomery Martin 1839 Google Books. Book IV- Possessions in Asia "Chapter I-Hindostan" pages 273-368
• Selections from the Records of the Bombay Government.
  • This series is available at the British Library IOR/V/23/206-207, 208-330, however currently (2020/02) must be viewed on microfiche. The catalogue entries give details of the titles: IOR/V/23/206-207, 1852-1855, mainly concerned with revenue matters; IOR/V/23/208-330 1854-1937. Discovery catalogue details, TNA.
  • List of Roman numerals
  • No III Memoir of the Zilla of Baroche 1852 HathiTrust Digital Library. This report was originally issued in 1825: Memoir of the Zilla of Baroche: Being the Result of a Revenue, Statistical, and Topographical Survey of that Collectorate under the direction of Lieutenant -Colonel Monier Williams. 1825 Google Books
  • No I New Series: On the Supply of Water to Bombay 1854 Google Books
  • No. V New Series: Report on the Collectorate of Ahmedabad; A short Account of the Chootas 1854 Google Books
  • No XII New Series: Includes Memoir On The Mahee Kanta 1855 Google Books
  • No XIV New Series 1855. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XVII New Series: Multiple topics including Memoirs on Shikapoor; Memorandum relative to the trade in indigo, in countries bordering on the Indus; Memoirs on the River Indus; Remarks On The Plants, And Articles Of Cultivation In Sind; Notes Relative To The Population, The Chiefs, etc In That Province; The Pearl Fishery, Sea Fishery, And Salt Beds Of Sind 1855 Google Books
  • No XVIII New Series 1855. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XIX New Series 1855. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XX New Series 1855. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XXI New Series 1855. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XXII New Series 1855. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XXIII New Series: Sketches of the Native States Under The Political Agency In The Rewa Kanta 1856 Google Books
  • No XXIV New Series: Historical And Other Information, Connected With The Province Of Oman, Muskat, Bahrein, And Other Places In The Persian Gulf. Etc Includes Measures Adopted By The British Government For The Suppression Of The Slave Trade In The Persian Gulf 1856 Google Books
  • No XXV New Series: Historical Sketches Of, And Brief Notes Relative To, The Native States of…within the charge of the Political Superintendent Pahlunpoor 1856 Google Books
  • No XXVI New Series: Rough Notes connected with various Petty States. Includes Historical Narrative of the City of Cambay... comprising a brief Sketch of the Province of Guzerat, at various periods 1856 Google Books
  • No XXVII New Series 1856, part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XXVIII New Series 1856. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. Archive.org
  • No XXX New Series 1856. Contents Part of a digital file with multiple volumes. 2nd file Archive.org
  • No XXXVII New Series catalogued 1856. Historical, Geographical And Statistical Memoirs On The Province Of Kattywar And On The Districts Of Babriawar And Okhamundul : Also A Report On The Iron Of Kattywar. Contents Archive.org
  • No XXXIX New Series, Part I 1856 Reports On The Resources Of The Districts Of Neriad, Matur, Mondeh, Beejapoor, Dholka, Dundooka, And Gogo, The Tuppa Of Napur, And The Kusba Of Ranpoor, In Guzerat. Contents and No XXXIX New Series, Part II in a separate volume Measures Adopted For The Suppression Of Female Infanticide In The Province Of Kattywar. Contents Archive.org
  • No XLI New Series: Memoir on the Satara Territory 1857 Google Books
  • No XLIII New Series: Memoirs by Commander James Felix Jones I.N: steam-trip to the North of Baghdad in April 1846 with notes on various objects of interest en route : journey for the purpose of determining the tract of the ancient Nahrwan canal undertaken in April 1848 with a glance at the past history of the territory of the Nahrwan : journey to the frontier of Turkey and Persia through a part of Kurdistan : researches in the vicinity of the Median Wall of Xenophon and along the old course of the River Tigris and discovery of the site of the ancient Opis : memoir on the province of Baghdad : notes on the topography of Ninevah and the other cities of Assyria and on the general geography of the country between the Tigris and the upper Zab founded upon a trigonometrical survey made in the year 1852. Published 1857.

  Archive.org version lacks title page, and including "Memoir on the Province of Baghdad. 1855". Includes coloured images and is a mirror from Wellcome Library where pages are rotatable. Also available Qatar National Library Read online or download. Sometimes there may be difficulty opening the file. Also available Archive.org, mirror from Granth Sanjeevani, Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

  There was a 1998 facsimile re-publication with the title Memoirs of Baghdad, Kurdistan & Turkish Arabia 1857 by J. F Jones , Indian Navy. Information about the book.

  • No XLV New Series: Report On The Upper Portion Of The Eastern Narra Its Sources Of Supply. Contents 1857 Archive.org
  • No XLIX New Series: A History: Arabia Felix Or Yemen, From The Commencement Of The Christian Era To The Present Time; Including An Account Of The British Settlement Of Aden 1859 Google Books
  • No LIV New Series: Memoir on the Thurr and Parkur districts of Sind, by Captain Stanley Napier Raikes ... 1856 .. 1859. HathiTrust Digital Library. Also available Google Books and Archive.org
  • From one digital file, whose title page does not match any of the contents. Archive.org.
    • Uncatalogued pages relating to Railways, appears to be No LXXI: New Series 1863, commencing page 20. Papers relating to the project of connecting Barsee with the Barsee railway station by tramways.
    • No LXXII New Series 1863. No LXXIII New Series 1863. No LXXIV New Series 1863. No LXXV New Series 1863.
    • No LXXVI New Series 1863. Observations on the Influence of Forests.
    • No LXXVII New Series 1863. No LXXVIII New Series 1863. Report on the subject of the Rain-fall in the Dekhan and the Climatic Disturbance apparent during 1861 and 1862.
    • No LXXX New Series: Report on the Sanitary State of the Island of Bombay 1864
    • No LXXXI New Series, Index 1864. No LXXXII 1864. No LXXXIV New Series 1864 Railway Traffic.
  • No XCII New Series: Papers relating to the Constitution and Functions of the Council of his Excellency the Governor of Bombay for making Laws and Regulations 1865 Google Books
  • No XCVI New Series 1866. Contents About rates of assessment for the Tanna Collectorate. Archive.org.
  • No XCVIII New Series: Annual Report of the Jails in Sind 1864-1865 1866 Archive.org.
  • No XCIX New Series 1866 regarding Lighting Up the Entrance of the Harbour of Bombay.
  • No C New Series 1866. Papers relating to Pilotage System of Bombay.
  • No CI New Series Abstract of the Proceedings and Report of the International Sanitary Conference of 1866 1867. Contents. Archive.org
  • No CII New Series 1867 Archive.org
  • No CIV New Series Selected Minutes of the Honorable Mountstuart Elphinstone in the Military Department 1820-1827. 1867 Archive.org
  • No CV New Series 1867. No CVI New Series 1867. No CVII New Series 1868. No CVIII New Series 1868. Archive.org
  • No CXVI New Series: Annual Police Report for 1868 Province of Sind 1870. Same digital file 1869 (1871) No CXXII New Series; 1870 (1871) No CXXIV New Series. Archive.org.
  • No CXXXIV New Series: Khoti Tenure 1873 Google Books
  • No CLII New Series: Archaeolgical Survey of Western India: Province of Kachh 1879. Hathi Trust version where the book reader enables pages to be rotated.
  • No CLXXXIX New Series: Account of a trip to Mount Eilo on the northern frontier of the Gadafursi country with a sketch map showing the routes by Captain J S King, Assistant Political Resident, Zaila 1886. Zaila (Zeila) is a port city in the northwestern Salal region of Somalia. Pdf download, Digital Repository of GIPE, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics [Pune].
  • Search the Internet Archive (Archive.org) for individual titles. More online editions appear to be available, including under individual titles, at GIPE Digitised Books (free) and at Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Granth Sanjeevani, the latter requires a paid personal or institutional membership to access the contents, however many mirror files have been uploaded to the Internet Archive.
• The Wonders of Elora or the Narrative of a Journey to the Temples and Dwellings...at Elora, in the East Indies by John B Seely, Captain in the Bombay Native Infantry 1824 Archive.org. Second Edition, with Considerable Additions and Improvements 1825 HathiTrust Digital Library, with rotatable pages.

Illustrations of the Rock-cut Temples of India: selected from the best examples of the different series of caves at Ellora, Ajunta, Cuttack, Salsette, Karli, and Mahavellipore. Drawn on stone by Mr. T. C. Dibdin, from sketches ... made on the spot ... in the years 1838-9 by James Fergussson 1845

The Illustrations Archive.org, HathiTrust Digital Library version with rotatable pages

Illustrations of the Rock-cut Temples of India. Text to Accompany the Folio Volume of Plates by James Fergussson 1845 Archive.org

Notes on the Rock-cut Temples and Rock-cut Palaces Near Ellora by a Recent tourist 1856. With illustrations. Archive.org, mirror from Granth Sanjeevani, Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

Ajanta : a handbook of Ajanta Caves descriptive of the painting and sculpture there in by Shrimant Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao 1932. Archive.org, Ministry of Culture [India] Collection.

• Chow-Chow; being selections from a journal kept in India, Egypt and Syria by Amelia Cary 1857 Google Books Volume I, Volume II. The author was the wife of Lord Falkland the Governor of Bombay 1848-1853
• A Handbook for India: Being an Account of the Three Presidencies, and of the Overland Route; intended as a guide for Travellers, Officers and Civilians. Part II Bombay by Edward B. Eastwick, published by John Murray 1859 Google Books

Bradshaw's Hand-book to the Bombay Presidency and North-Western Provinces of India 1864 Google Books

Handbook of the Bombay Presidency with an account of Bombay City by Edward B. Eastwick, published by John Murray 2nd edition, ("for the most part rewritten") 1881 Archive.org

• Our Last Years in India by Mrs John B Speid 1862. Archive.org, mirror from Central Secretariat Library (CSL) [Delhi] Digital Repository. The author’s husband was in command of the 2nd Regiment of the Hyderabad Contingent Infantry. She left England 27 October 1858 and the book appears to covers the period to 19 May 1861 (although the final date given is 19 May 1859). She also includes an account of the Mutiny at Aurangabad in 1857.
• My Year in an Indian Fort by Mrs Guthrie published 1877 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org. The Indian Fort was at Belgaum.

Life in Western India by Mrs Guthrie published 1881 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org

The author is stated to be Katharine [or more accurately Katherine] Blanche Guthrie. It appears she was staying in India with her daughter Margaret and her daughter's husband, Major William Augustus Gillespie, Staff Corps, Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General (for Musketry), Belgaum.

• Medico Topographical Report on Zanzibar by John Robb, Surgeon, Bombay Medical Establishment. 1879. Archive.org. Robb was Agency Surgeon in Zanzibar as part of the Government of India Foreign Department.
• A Short History of the Bombay Presidency by Edmund C Cox, Bombay District Police 1887 Archive.org. Also see Police.
• The following volumes are available online, see Directories online - The Times of India Directory
  • The Times of India Calendar and Directory for 1907. Contains information for India generally. Contents, digital page 51
  • The Times of India Directory of Bombay (City and Presidency) Karachi-Poona- Ahmedabad etc. 1932. Index, digital page 42
  • The Times of India Directory of Bombay (City and Presidency) Karachi-Poona- Ahmedabad etc. 1935. Index, digital page 26
  • The Times of India Directory of Bombay (City and Provincial) including Karachi and Hyderabad State 1939. Index, digital page 13
• Directory for the Mahi Kantha Agency , Volume 1 by F. Sorabji, 1922. Archive.org. Mahi Kantha was a political agency or collection of Princely States within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency
• The Palanpur Agency Directory Volume 1 by F. Sorabji 1908. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Palanpur was one of three Political Agencies in the Northern Division of the Bombay Presidency. Contents , computer page 16.
• ‪The Indian Official Thesaurus‬: ‪Being Introductory to Annals of Indian Administration Compiled by Meredith Townsend 1858‬ ‪Google Books. A guide to records.
• The Annals of Indian Administration, edited by Meredith Townsend and later George Smith. Selected extracts from the Records of the Indian, Bengal, Madras Bombay, NWP, and Punjab and perhaps other Governments. Google Books.
  • Part I 1856, Part VI 1858, Volume 3, Part 2 June 1859, Volume 4, Part 1 March 1860, Volume 14 1868-69.

  Additional volumes to Volume 19 1873-74 are available on Archive.org

• General Report on the administration of the Bombay Presidency for the Year 1875-1876 1876 Archive.org
• A Handbook to the Ports on the Coast of India between Calcutta and Bombay, including the Island of Ceylon by Herbert Samuel Brown, Lieutenant, R.N.R. Port and Customs Officer, Mangalore. 1897. British Library Digital Collection.
• Selections from the Travels and Journals Preserved in the Bombay Secretariat Contents Edited by George W. Forrest, C.I.E., ex-Director of Records, Government of India. 1906 Archive.org
• The History of Kathiawad from the Earliest Times by Capt H Wilberforce-Bell, late Political Agent, Sorath. 1916 Archive.org. Kathiawad is situated on the West of India, between the Gulfs of Kachh and Cambay
• The Bombay Land Revenue Manual 1934 Archive.org
• Monograph Series. Republished in 1976 as Art in industry through the ages: monograph series on Bombay Presidency, with this catalogue record for contents nla.gov.au.
  • A Monograph On Dyes And Dyeing In The Bombay Presidency by C G H Fawcett. [Sir Charles Gordon Hill Fawcett] 1896. Uniform Title: Miscellaneous Official Publications. Archive.org, mirror file from Digital Library of India.
  • Monograph on Woollen Fabrics of the Bombay Presidency by B A Brendon, 1899. Digital Repository of GIPE, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics [Pune]. Also available Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection, however the print quality is poor.
  • Monograph upon the Silk Fabrics of the Bombay Presidency by S M Edwardes, 1900. Digital Repository of GIPE
  • Monograph on Tanning and working in Leather in the Bombay Presidency by J R Martin 1903. Digital Repository of GIPE
  • Monograph on Stone Carving and Inlaying in the Bombay Presidency by J H E Tupper 1906. Digital Repository of GIPE
  • Monograph on the art and practice of Carpet-Making in the Bombay Presidency by H J R Twigg, 1907. Digital Repository of GIPE
• Sani Panhwar.com Website Scroll down to collection of books on Sindh and Vicinity, and General Books. With link to
  • Rare Books including Administration Reports on various topics.

This link is part of the website Panhwar.com about Sindh. Many books on Bombay and Sindh. Pdf format.

Fiction

• Bears and Dacoits and Other Stories by G A Henty c 1901. Archive.org. Includes "Bears and Dacoits. A Tale of the Ghauts".