Seran Raja's palace by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 1 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. James and William Fraser (who was Political Agent to Major-General Martindale) reached Sarahan, the picturesque summer residence of the Bushair rajas, on 16 June 1815. Now a tiny village, best-known for the Bhimakali temple, it sits high on a ridge above the Sutlej river. The young Raja, who was only 8 years old, came out of his palace to pay the travellers a visit. From Sarahan they had a good view of the peaks of Bandarpunch near the source of the river Yamuna. It rained incessantly, forcing them to stay in their tents for several days before continuing their journey.

A current photograph of this builiding

A Current photograph from the same angle

Source: British Library

Bheem ke Udar by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 7 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. While crossing the mountain pass between the valleys of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, on their way to the source of the latter, Fraser and his party spent a night at this spot. It is named after Bhima, one of the five Pandava brothers in the epic Mahabharata. Fraser wrote: "Our encamping ground was ... a cave under a large stone, called Bheem-Ke-Udar; in a dry night it is sufficiently comfortable, but rain would readily beat in. In this cavern, and under a few other large stones around it, there was some shelter, though scanty for our company."

Source: British Library

View of the country from Urshalun Teeba by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint by Robert Havell and Son from plate 3 after JB Fraser 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. On 18 June 1815 Fraser and his brother William reached Urshalun, near to where the Nepalese General Kirti Rana had surrendered. Three days later James celebrated his 32nd birthday by climbing the peak, Tiba, behind the village.

Source: British Library

Village of the Shai by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 16 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. A mixture of tall temples and small houses made up the architecture of the village of Shai. Fraser wrote in his journal: "The village is poor and chiefly in ruins, but its situation is not unpleasant." In this area, he observed that the villages were inhabited by Brahmins (members of the highest Hindu caste), who he described as "a race that take that exceeding good care of themselves, which is generally observed of the priesthood in all countries where superstition holds sway".

Shai is near Chur mountain. It was here that the Fraser brothers received the news that the Gurkha general Kirti Rana, and some of Gurkha leader Amar Singh's men, had surrendered to the British.

Source: British Library

The junction of the Touse and Pabur by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 17 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. Fraser and his brother William followed the river Pabbar southwards and camped two miles from its junction with the Tons. Both rivers are glacier-fed tributaries of the Yamuna valley.

Source: British Library

Gangotri, the holy shrine of Mahadeo by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and son from plate 11 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. Fraser is alleged to have been the first European to visit and map Gangotri, which is the source of the Ganges. He admitted in his journal to a quiet sense of satisfaction at this achievement. Having met many pilgrims on the way, he wrote: "We were now in the centre of the stupendous Himalas, the loftiest and perhaps the most rugged range of mountains in the world. We were at the source of that noble river, equally an object of veneration and a source of fertility, plenty and opulence to Hindustan; and we had now reached the holiest shrine of Hindoo worship which these holy hills contain."

The town of Rampore by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 5 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. Fraser and his brother William reached Rampur, the capital of Bushair State in the Himalayan foothills, on 12 June 1815. It was an important trading place for cashmere wool and was situated on the banks of the river Sutlej, which was crossed by the precarious rope bridge seen in the bottom left corner.

Crossing the Touse by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 10 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. It shows a detachment of William Fraser's 'Irregulars' crossing the River Tons - a tributary of the Yamuna - by means of a harness dangling from a rope. Crossing rivers in the Himalayas was always a hazardous undertaking as the waters from the mountains were often raging torrents.

Village & Castle of Bumpta by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 14 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. The village and fort of Bumpta were situated on a steep hillside. The once-extensive fort lay in ruins, having been damaged by accidental fire. The Rana of Jubbal was building a residence on its foundations. On the way to Bumpta the terrain became more rugged and Fraser commented in his journal: "I have travelled in the Highlands of Scotland, and have made long marches there without more fatigue than is usually felt, but I must aver that a twelve or thirteen miles stage, such as of this day, has fatigued me more than upwards of three times its distance at home."

The ridge and fort of Jytock by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and son from plate 4 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. A hill in the Nahan area of Himachal Pradesh, Jaitak was crowned with a fortress built by the Nepalese general Ranajor Thapa in 1810. It was the scene of one of the fiercest battles of the Anglo-Nepal War, when General Ranajor retreated there from Nahan. Fraser witnessed the beginning of the Siege of Jaithak; it was during his time there, he explained in his journal, that "the Devil of Drawing broke loose there was no holding him". He added: "When at Jytock with General Martindell's Army, I got seized with a desire to delineate some of the objects that there met our view and the first impulse was in an odd place, in our Batteries, when really it was not quite pleasant for the Enemies Shot were playing over our heads quite briskly."

The valley of the Jumna with two grand peaks of Bunderpooch by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 8 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. This snowy Himalayan massif is known as the Bandarpunch or Monkey's Tail. It is 6316 metres high. The source of the great river Yamuna lies here.

On his arrival in the river valley Fraser decided to journey on to the source. He wrote: "After a succession of ascents and descents of various importance in a space of twelve miles and a half we reached the ridge ... and saw the River Jumna winding far below us like a silver line in the deep dark hollow of its bed."

Jumnotree, the source of the River Jumna by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 20 of J. B. Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. Yamunotri is the name given to the source of one of India's great northern rivers, the Yamuna. The site of thermal hot springs, it is revered by Hindus as sacred. The actual source is from a glacier lake nearby, the Saptarishi Kund, which is fed by snow-melt streams. Fraser wrote of Yamunotri: "where the various small streams formed on the mountain brow, by the many masses of snow, unite in one, and fall into a basin below ... Between the two banks the view is closed by the breast of the mountain, which is of a vivid green from perpetual moisture, and is furrowed by time and the torrents into numberless ravines; and down these ravines are seen trickling the numerous sources of this branch of the Jumna."

Byramghattee by James Baillie Fraser - 1820

This coloured aquatint was made by Robert Havell and Son from plate 19 of JB Fraser's 'Views in the Himala Mountains'. Now little more than a hamlet, Bhaironghati lies about 10 kilometres from Gangotri. It is set in a thickly forested region near the river Jahnavi, a tributary of the Bhagirathi (the Ganges at its origin).

Arriving here on 19 July 1815, James wrote: "A very singular and terrible place. The course of the river has continued foaming through its narrow rocky bed and the hills approach their heads, as though they could meet at a prodigious height above. At this point the Bhagiruttee is divided into two branches; that which preserves the name descends from the eastward, and the other, of a size fully equal, called the Jhannevie, joins it from the north-east. Both these rivers run in chasms, the depth, narrowness and rugged wildness of which it is impossible to describe."

Source: British Library

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)