Europeans being entertained by dancers and musicians in a splendid Indian house in Calcutta (Kolkata) during Durga puja by William Prinsep 1840

Watercolour of Europeans being entertained by dancers and musicians in a splendid Indian house during Durga puja by William Prinsep (1794-1874) dating from the 1830s-1840s. The subject matter and treatment is rather unlike Prinsep's normal style, and it is possible that this is based on another artist's composition, possibly W.F. Hutchisson's. William Prinsep, a merchant with the Calcutta firm of Palmer & Company, came from a family who had served in India for several generations. Five of his brothers were also in the country.

source: British Library (bl.uk)

Illustrations of Indian Field Sports Selected and reproduced from the coloured engravings first published in 1807 after designs by Captain Thomas Williamson of the Bengal Army

Hunters going out in the morning

Beating Sugar Canes for a Hog

The Chase After a Hog

Hog Hunters Meeting by Surprise a Tigress and her Cubs

Chasing a Tiger Across a River

The Dead Tiger

Shooting a Leopard

Hunting an old Buffalo

Driving a Bear out of Sugar Canes

The Hog Deer at Bay

Source: Archive.org
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The interior of the Arsenal, Fort William, Calcutta (Kolkata) by William Prinsep - 1835

Pencil and ink drawing of the interior of the Arsenal in Fort William at Calcutta by William Prinsep (1794-1874) dating from the 1830s. This view shows rifles stacked in three-tiered rows. The new Fort William was constructed as a result of the damaging attack on the original fort by the forces of Siraj-ud-Daulah the Nawab of Bengal in 1757. It was situated to the south of the city in Gobindpore and designed by John Brohier. The structure is polygonal in form and has extensive defences including bastions, earthworks and a moat. The area surrounding the fort, known as the Maidan, was cleared to provide an unrestricted line of fire.

source: British Library (bl.uk)

St Peter's Church, Fort William, Calcutta (Kolkata) by William Prinsep - 1835

Watercolour with pen and ink of St Peter's Church in Fort William in Calcutta by William Prinsep (1794-1874) c.1830s. Inscribed on the original mount: 'New Gothic Church in the Centre of Fort William, built by Capt Hutchinson-viewed from the flatstaff Bastion. Tumbrils & gun carriages laid out for inspection Gov. General's house in case of siege. Shot yard-ordnance'.

The new Fort William was constructed as a result of the damaging attack on the original fort by the forces of Siraj-ud-Daulah the Nawab of Bengal in 1757. It was situated to the south of the city in Gobindpore and designed by John Brohier. The structure is polygonal in form and has extensive defences including bastions, earthworks and a moat. The foundation stone of the Neo-Gothic church of St Peter's inside the fort was laid in 1822. It opened for worship in 1825 and was consecrated in 1828. William Prinsep was a merchant in the Calcutta firm of Palmer & Company. He came from a family who served in India for several generations; five of his brothers were also in the country.

source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of the West Side of Tank Square (Lal Dighi) Calcutta (Kolkata) by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

his is plate 22 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city, published later as a collection of 24 superbly aquatinted plates. He included in his collection five views of Tank Square.

This image shows the square's west side, where "the gate to the tank faces Koila Ghat Street, on the right of which is the old export warehouse built up against the southern edge of the Old Fort". Part of the latter was demolished in 1819 to build up the new Customs House, which is outside the present view.

At the south-west corner of the Square, Council House Street leads down to Esplanade Row. On the corner of Council House Street and the square is the building where the first Public Exchange and Coffee House in Calcutta were situated. This did not perform very well, and was subsequently leased by Lord Wellesley for his College of Fort William.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A view of Barrackpore House, with the Reach of the River by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate ten from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years had produced animated sketches of the busy city. The collection includes two views at Barrackpore. This one shows a house that "the Marquess of Hastings had greatly extended, adding in 1814-15 a whole new storey".

In 1801 Marquess Wellesley had taken over as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army's residence at Barrackpore, 14 miles from Calcutta (Kolkata). He built Barrackpore House as a residence for future governors-general. On the left is the Memorial Hall, or Temple of Fame, a memorial to French and Dutch soldiers those who had died in the conquests of Mauritius and Java during the Napoleonic Wars.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A view of Serampore, from the Park at Barrackpore by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 21 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city. The collection included two views at Barrackpore.

This one shows the view from Barrackpore Park across the river to Serampore or Srirampur, a Dutch settlement on the opposite bank laid out in the 'English Style' by Marquess Wellesley. In Bishop Heber's words: "The Governor General has a very pretty country residence at Barrackpore ... offering ... beautiful a display of turf, tree and flowering shrub..." Its extensive grounds contained a theatre, an aviary and a menagerie. It was also possible to ride around the park on the back of an elephant.


Source: British Library (bl.uk)

View of the Loll Bazaar and Portuguese Chapel Calcutta (Kolkata) by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

Plate 17 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city, published later as a collection of 24 superbly aquatinted plates. He included in this collection two views of the Lall Bazaar, "famous for its punch houses and other places of entertainment..."

At the east end of Lall Bazaar was the Bow Bazaar, sometimes called Boytaconnah Street. The accompanying text reads: "At its eastern end, where it joined the Circular Road stood a Catholic Church with its northern facade on Bow Bazaar. The Circular Road runs across the picture, while the tracks sweeping round from the left are those of carts heading eastwards to the Salt Water Lake. This is the church of Our Lady of Doris, begun in June 1809 and consecrated a year later, built by the munificence of Mrs Gracia Elizabeth."


Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of Esplanade Row Calcutta (Kolkata), from the River at Chandpaul Ghat by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 5 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years had produced these animated sketches of the busy city.

This view shows Esplanade Row from the vantage point of the Tank, or reservoir, which had been built at Chandpaul Ghat. The buildings shown are the Supreme Court of Calcutta and new town hall, with Government House in the distance, its southern gateways crossing Esplanade Row.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A view of Government House Calcutta (Kolkata), from the eastward by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 3 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city. He devotes three views in his collection to the Government House, all of them taken along its eastern side. Government House was built by Marquess Wellesley, who had became Governor General in 1798. The architect Captain Charles Wyatt based his design on that of Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, but with modifications dictated by the climate.

In this view, one of the gateways is shown in all its magnificence: "the main arch crowned by a lion and the side gates by sphinxes, while in front passes Lord Hastings' carriage procession, preceded by his silver-stick and mace bearers and followed by memebers of his bodyguard." Along the roof of Government House large Adjutant birds can be seen standing stiffly to

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

View of Calcutta (Kolkata) from the Glacis of Fort William by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 15 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city, published later as a collection of 24 superbly aquatinted plates.

New arrivals to the city commented on their first sight of the Fort with its glacis, or gently sloping bank. Mrs Eliza Fay wrote in 1780: "Our fort is also so well kept and everything in such excellent order ... all the slopes, banks and ramparts, are covered with the richest verdure, which completes the enchantment of the scene."

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

View of Court House Street Calcutta (Kolkata), from near the South-Eastern Gateway of Government House by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate fourteen from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city, published later as a collection of 24 superbly aquatinted plates. In the collection he devotes three plates to the Government House, all of them taken along its eastern side.

The accompanying text reads: "The view up Old Court House Street, closed by St. Andrew's at the further end, although not totally successful, as the perspective distorts the right-angle relationship between the south front of Government House and Old Court House Street, renders this same south-estern gateway a veritable Roman triumphal archway."

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of Esplanade Row Calcutta (Kolkata), from the Chowringhee Road by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 3 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city.

Chowringhee Road, now Jawarhalal Nehru Road, was the main north-south road through the city, and also the main settlement for the British in Calcutta at the time. The road runs for two miles along the Maidan, a wide, grassy open space.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of the Black Pagoda, in the Chitpore Road Calcutta (Kolkata) by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 23 of James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city.

Moving south into the heart of the city itself, he includes the view of the Black Pagoda in the Chitpore Road, a predominantly native part of Calcutta. This was built in 1731 by Gobindram Mitter, a local zamindar (landlord). It was never completed, and decayed so much that the main tower collapsed around 1813. One of the two subsidiary towers is shown in this image, with the Navaratna, or nine pinnacles.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of Chandpal Ghat Calcutta (Kolkata) by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate one from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years had produced these animated sketches of the busy city.

This first plate in the collection extends from the west end of the city, where Esplanade Row meets the River Hooghly. It was the main landing place for visitors to the city and "fast-growing and squalid, largely owing to the presence of a tank [reservoir]". The chunam-covered buildings, shining brightly in the sunshine, as here, were an exciting introduction to the city.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of the River Ganges, Shipping and Town Calcutta (Kolkata), from near Smith's Dock by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 18 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city, published later as a collection of 24 superbly aquatinted plates.

This view was taken from the premises of Smith's Dock Company on the bank of the River Hooghly in Calcutta.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of the Botanic Garden House and Reach opposite side of Calcutta (Kolkata) by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 4 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city, published later as a collection of twenty-four superbly aquatinted plates.

One of two views of the river Hooghly, this one looks up to the Botanic Garden House on the left and the palatial country residences of Garden Reach on the right. The house, built in 1795, was the residence of the Superintendent of the Gardens, the great botanist Dr William Roxburgh. The gardens were established by the East India Company in 1786, through the efforts of Colonel Robert Kyd, its first superintendent.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

View of St John's cathedral Calcutta (Kolkata) by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 19 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city of Calcutta, published later as a collection of 24 superbly aquatinted plates.

St John's cathedral, built in 1787, was designed by Lieutenant James Agg of the Bengal Engineers and based on the design of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. A ramp had been built by the side of the Cathedral to allow easy access for palanquins. To the right of the cathedral is the monument to the Rohilla campaign of 1794.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A View of Calcutta (Kolkata), from a point opposite to Kidderpore by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

Plate twenty from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'.

Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years had produced these animated sketches of the busy city. He included in his collection two lovely views of the river.

This one was taken from Shalimar Point opposite Kidderpore, "where the river bends round to the west. Here Colonel Robert Kyd, who persuaded the Company in 1786 to establish the great Botanic Gardens just downriver at Sibpur, and who became their first Superintendent built his famous domed house called Shalimar From here Fort William occupies the centre of the composition with the buildings of Esplanade Row and Chowringhee Road spread around it."

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

A view of Writers Buildings Calcutta (Kolkata) with Holwell monument at the West End by James Baillie Fraser - 1826

This is plate 6 from James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs'. Fraser (1783-1856) arrived in Calcutta in 1814 and in six years produced these animated sketches of the busy city, published later as a collection of twenty-four superbly aquatinted plates.

The accompanying text reads: "[Fraser's] view at sunrise from the west of the Writer's Buildings shows us a close-up of the Holwell monument to the Black Hole now in the last years of its existence. It was taken down by the order of the Marquess of Hastings in 1821, on the grounds of its increasing unsightliness. Built only of brick and plaster, it had also obviously become a kind of lounging place, where barbers plied thier trade. An impromptu verandah has been added all along the facade of Writer's Buildings. At the far end of the square we catch our first glimpse of the new St. Andrew's Church."

Source: British Library (bl.uk)