Antique Plan of Calcutta with Fort William and Three Views, 1847
US$931
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1847
Mapmaker / artist
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Publisher
Charles Knight and Co., 22 Ludgate Street, London
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
35 × 43 cm (13.8 × 16.9 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14487-1-9
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners complete.
About this sheet
This is an original antique city plan of Calcutta, steel engraved and published in the atlas of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The plan runs along the Hooghly from the shipping reaches past Fort William and the open Maidan to the dense streets of the native town, with the race ground, the canals and the garden suburbs all marked. Three views are engraved on the sheet: the Writers Buildings, Government House and Esplanade Row. The outline and water coloring is original hand color, applied by the publisher before the sheet was bound into the volume.
The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge published this as plate number 170 of the third volume of its atlas, the cities and stars volume, through Charles Knight at 22 Ludgate Street in London in 1847. The plans were engraved on steel, which allowed far larger print runs than copper and kept the fine detail crisp across the whole edition.
Calcutta was the capital of British India and the second city of the empire when this plan was made, and the sheet lays out the colonial city and the Indian city side by side without disguising either. Plans of Calcutta from this period are scarce on the market, and the three engraved views make this one of the handsomest of them. Framed simply in dark wood or a plain gilt frame it suits a study, a hallway or a dining room, and it is a natural gift for anyone with a tie to the place.
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners complete.
This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
