New publication: Victor Jacquemont or The Art of Writing in Nineteenth-Century India

in Hand Papermaking Vol. 39 number 1 Summer 2024

The issue can be purchased here

Victor Jacquemont (1801–1832), a French botanist and explorer, was commissioned by the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris to carry out topographical, barometric, and botanical surveys of the Western Himalayan regions. From June 1830 to December 1832, he travelled extensively in the northern regions of the subcontinent to fulfil his exploratory mission. While his
contributions to the natural sciences and his boldness were recognized by his peers, his talent as an epistolary writer was also widely acknowledged. His letters to friends and relatives, reflecting
his harrowing adventures, are full of fascinating details and incisive remarks. However, his interest in epistolary materiality has rarely been analyzed. His comments about the local paper he procured during his time in India, often written in fervent prose, not only underline the importance of writing media to Jacquemont, but also allow us to explore the different types of writing paper available in northwest India during the first half of the nineteenth century.