Digital Rare Book :
The Hand-Book of India - A guide to the stranger and the traveller, and a companion to the resident.
By Joachim Hayward Stocqueler
Published by W.H. Allen & Co., London - 1844

The object of this book is to combine, within the smallest possible space, all the information respecting British India, which an individual proceeding to any one of the Presidencies might desire, at first, to possess. Innumerable excellent publications are before the world, some of which treat of the history of India, the form of government, the topography, productions, and commerce of the country, while many are confined to sketches of habits, customs, and religions ; the revenue and monetary systems ; the manner of European life, laws, and institutions, etc. But there is not one single volume extant which presents, at one view, an outline of every thing relating to the country. To supply the desideratum has been the purpose of the author, or compiler, of the present Hand-Book.