Archive of Letters, Notebooks, Photographs and Other Documents Pertaining to Horse Racing in India

primarily Calcutta and Bengal, primarily 1950s-1970s. Ephemera. Very Good. A rich archive documenting horse breeding and racing, centered around the Chota Nagpur Stud Farm and the racing career of Fiona Tyabji in Calcutta and Bengal. It includes: 3 financial ledgers from (March 1967 to January 1970, January 1970 to September 1971, January 1974 to June 1975); scrapbook (approx. pp. 200) of newspaper clippings and handwritten notes, 1954-1959; 8 manuscript notebooks (approx. pp. 80), "catch alls," collecting names of horses and notes on their general health, diet, and exercise, plus observations on the weather, the comings and goings of workers and family and friends, tasks completed, races won/lost, and other details of the farm ("cobra found in Mermaid's stall," "Portnoi destroyed," etc.), a range of months from 1961-1971, with gaps; about 100 handwritten letters, roughly dating from the 1970s, with some earlier or later, but many of them bearing only the month and day (not the year), many from Fiona Tyabji to her husband Najm Tyabji; two large manilla envelopes bursting with loose newspaper clippings; about 75 b/w photographs, 9.5 x 12 inches, many with typed labels affixed to the lower margin (naming the racetrack, horse, jockey, and trainer, giving the date and time), and more than 100 smaller photographs, many of them labelled by hand on the verso. Also includes a jockey's red shirt and white spats. Some photos a bit scuffed and dusty, notebooks and letters show the usual signed of heavy use -- but condition is generally very good. An unusual collection, worthy of further study.