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WITH 40 LARGE HAND-COLOURED PLATES

Lot No. 28: WILLIAMSON, CAPT. THOMAS AND SAMUEL HOWETT.

ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS

  • Medium: Printed Books
  • Year: 1819
  • Size: 19.9 x 15.2 inches

Winning Bid : ₹19,80,000

(Inclusive Buyer's Premium)

Estimate

8,00,000 - 15,00,000


Estimate US$

9600-18000

Ends at Oct 17, 2024 07:33 PM IST

Quick Overview

Total : 5 bids   |   Next 5 valid bids   | 20% Buyer's Premium   |   Additional Charges   |   Comparable

WILLIAMSON, CAPT. THOMAS AND SAMUEL HOWETT.

ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS

BEING A COMPLETE, DETAILED, AND ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE WILD SPORTS OF THE EAST; AND EXHIBITING, IN A NOVEL AND INTERESTING MANNER, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ELEPHANT, THE RHINOCEROS, THE TIGER, THE LEOPARD, THE BEAR, THE DEER, THE BUFFALO, THE WOLF, THE WILD HOG, THE JACKALL, THE WILD DOG, THE CIVET, AND OTHER DOMESTICATED ANIMALS: AS LIKEWISE THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FEATHERED GAME, FISHES, AND SERPENTS.

Year: 1819

Size: 50.7 x 38.8 cm (19.9 x 15.2 inches)

40 hand colored aquatint plates.

Printed for Thomas M'Lean, Bookseller and Publisher 1819. Large oblong Folio, pp 145, 40 hand colored aquatint plates. Contemporary full straight grain Maroon morocco leather binding with extensive tooling in gilt and blind on covers and spine, title in gilt on spine, marble end-papers. Good condition.

Williamson served in a British regiment in Bengal and was an avid sportsman while there. A self-taught artist, Williamson turned professional when financial difficulties forced him to earn a living. He drew on his enthusiasm and knowledge as a sportsman and produced sporting and natural history paintings, etchings, and illustrations. He sometimes worked in oils but more frequently in water colours, and he was an accomplished etcher. After being recalled to England, Williamson's knowledge of wild life and Oriental sports had come to the notice of the Orme family (Rohatgi & Parlett). The Orme's contracted with celebrated painter Samuel Howitt to prepare finished watercolours based on Williamson's original sketches during his time in India, and published the work, originally in 20 parts, between 1805 and 1807. The result was the most beautiful book on Indian sport in existence (Schwerdt). The work, however, is not merely a sporting book. As Williamson writes in the Preface, the work is offered to the public as depicting the Manners, Customs, Scenery, and Costume of a territory now intimately blended with the British Empire, and of such importance to its welfare, as to annex a certain degree of consequence to every publications, that either exhibits, or professes to impart, a knowledge of whatever may hitherto have been concealed, or that remains unfolded to our view. The plates, etched by J. Clarck. Howitt and Williamson's images are vivid depictions of both the chase and the Indian scenery. Of particular note are the four plates treating elephants, described by Williamson as possessing the energy of the horse, the sagacity of the dog, and a large portion of the monkey's cunning. The eleven plates devoted to the tiger are each riveting.

The work was published to great acclaim. An 1807 issue of The Monthly Review declared: Much entertainment for the eye, and much information for the mind will be found in this very splendid volume." The Review continues by lamenting the high cost of the work: Twenty guineas may be a trifle in Nabob's pocket: but Nabobs are not numerous in England; and we should suppose that the sale of such a work as this cannot be very widely diffused." This no doubt contributed to the work's present-day rarity.
Provenance : Collection of a Gentleman
Good condition
Nickname Amount(Rs) Type Date & Time(IST)
1 anon0350 1650000.00 Regular 17-10-2024 07:10:49 PM IST
2 anon0142 1500000.00 Regular 17-10-2024 07:10:49 PM IST
3 anon0350 1210000.00 Regular 17-10-2024 06:10:44 PM IST
4 anon0114 1100000.00 Regular 17-10-2024 06:10:44 PM IST
5 anon0114 792000.00 Regular 17-10-2024 06:10:12 PM IST
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