John Hands

DESCRIPTION: This portrait depicts Reverend John Hands (1780–1864), an influential Irish missionary sent to India by the London Missionary Society in 1810. Key Contributions: Pioneer in Bellary: He founded the first mission station in Bellary (modern-day Ballari, Karnataka) in 1810. He was also a pioneer of the Kannada language, producing the first Kannada-English and English-Kannada lexicons and a grammar book. He completed the first translation of the Bible into Kannada in 1820, alongside William Reeve. He established early residential schools for boys and girls and set up the first Kannada printing press, which later published the first Kannada newspaper, Samachar, in 1844. This engraving, created circa 1833, shows Hands in his later years. Despite his significant impact on South Indian education and literature, he remains a relatively lesser-known figure compared to later missionaries like Ferdinand Kittel. STYLE: Engraving COLOUR: Monochrome SIZE (cm): 11.5 x 18.5 CREATORS: Fenner, Sears & Co after John Robert Wildman PUBLICATION: PUBLISHER: DATE: c1833 COMMENTS: Excellent condition SUBJECT: People PACKAGE: Single one-sided sheet in acid-free mount, flat & unfolded inside hard-backed envelope. Royal Mail Tracked 24 included. Note: Images are provided for illustration purposes only and are intended to show the complete printed product, including any imperfections of age that may be present. Frames or props shown in the images are for display purposes only and are not included with your purchase.