First Edition Books and Rare Art

By Sir Charles D’Oyly (1781-1845)

This unique print originates from the rare coloured edition of the Views of Calcutta and its Environs. Featured is a delightful scene of a temple in Calcutta, fronted by modest dwellings – a romantic and individualistic handling of a period street scene, typical of D’Oyly’s style. It was published in 1848 at 10 guineas coloured and 6 guineas plain.


Charles D’Oyly was a man of boundless energy, a satirical observer of Anglo-Indian life. Between 1821 and 1832 when D’Oyly lived in Patna, travellers up the Ganges would stop there and spend lively evenings at his house, admiring his drawings and dining well.


The original drawings for this work were probably made between 1833 and 1838 while D’Oyly was Senior Member of the Board of Customs, Salt, and Opium and Marine Board in Calcutta, but some must have been completed between 1839 and 1845 when he retired. The complete work was published after D’Oyly’s death in Italy in 1845. D’Oyly, the son of a well-known nabob became the centre of a fashionable group devoted to drawing.


Lithograph with original hand-colour heightened with gum Arabic. Approx. 340 x 540mm. (13 x 21ins). Lithographed by W. Robert and Lowes Dickinson after drawings by the late Sir Charles D’Oyly Bart.

Reference: Abbey Travel 497 no. 23. J.R. Abbey, Travel in Aquatint and Lithography 1770-1860 from the library of J.R. Abbey: a bibliographical catalogue. London 1957.

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Tags: Anglo-Indian art, Charles D'Oyly, india, rare print

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