It was the wealth of natural resources that attracted the British to India or Hindoostan. But once they set foot in the country, its natural beauty and cultural heritage called out to the academically inclined bureaucrats, traders, and employees of the East India Company, who gave the country a gift of their painstakingly documented journeys in the form of text, maps and illustrations. These chronicles got published as voluminous books in the 18th and 19th centuries, but have become rare as time has passed.

The library of the Bombay Natural History Society, however, remains a treasure trove of around 2,000 such books. And since 1992, it has offered the city's history lovers a glimpse of these titles through rare book exhibitions. The ninth edition of the exhibition, which was last held in 2010, will open to the public today, where Mumbaikars can view over 25 rare tomes.