The Adi Granth, or Holy Scriptures of the Sikhs, translated from the Original Gurmukhi, with Introductory Essays.

4to (210 x 280 mm). XI, (1, errata), CXXXVIII, 715, (1) pp. Original dark green pebble-grained cloth, printed label to spine. First edition of the first translation of the Sikh scriptures into any language. Although controversial, the work of the German Indologist Ernest Trumpp (1828-85) played a crucial role in introducing the study of Sikhism to Western audiences. - Having arrived in India as a missionary in 1854, in 1869 Trumpp was commissioned by the India Office to produce a translation of the Sikh scriptures. Due to his strong evangelical views, however, he laced his commentary with denigrating remarks about the Sikh religion, which he felt would soon "belong to history". He saw his work as an act of documentation, and above all of producing an aid for Christian missionaries, rather than one of sympathy for Sihks. Nonetheless, the records Trumpp published of his discussions with the granthis at the Golden Temple are an invaluable resource, and his publication of the Puratan Janam Sakhi made known the earliest recorded biography of Guru Nanak. In general, his work brought the study of Sikhism to a Western audience, not least inspiring Max Arthur Macauliffe's rejoinder, The Sikh Religion (1909), which promised "to make some reparation to the Sikhs for the insults which Trumpp offered to their Gurus and their religion". - The Adi Granth is the oldest form of the central text of Sikhism, compiled by the Fifth Guru, Arjan, and installed in the Golden Temple of Amritsar in 1604. Following revisions by the tenth and final human Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1708, it was designated his successor as the eternal Guru, and became known as the Guru Granth Sahib. - First editions of Trumpp's translation are extremely rare on the market: Rare Book Hub lists the last copy sold at auction in 1987. A rare landmark in early western Sikh studies. - Slightly rubbed, endpapers spotted, inner hinge somewhat cracking at title-page, otherwise an excellent copy in unrestored contemporary condition. - OCLC 143911.…