1828 Elliot / Crawfurd View of Singapore - first view of Singapore!

Singapore-elliot-1828-3
$2,200.00
View of the Town and Roads of Singapore from the Government Hill. - Main View
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1828 Elliot / Crawfurd View of Singapore - first view of Singapore!

Singapore-elliot-1828-3

First published view of Singapore.
$2,200.00

Title


View of the Town and Roads of Singapore from the Government Hill.
  1828 (undated)     8 x 20 in (20.32 x 50.8 cm)

Description


The first printed view of Singapore, issued less than ten years after it was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781 - 1826). This aquatint view was published in 1828 after a painting by Royal Navy Captain Robert James Elliot. It looks on Singapore from Government Hill, covering the Plain, Singapore River, and Chinatown. Even at this early stage, the view presents a bustling city with numerous buildings and a lively port. We have not been able to trace Elliot's original painting.
Publication History and Census
The view was drawn in late 1822 or early 1823, but was not printed until John Crawfurd included it in the 1828 publication of his Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the courts of Siam and Cochin-China: exhibiting a view of the actual state of those kingdoms. It was engraved in London by John Heaviside Clark and was published by Henry Colburn. The view was included in all editions of Crawfurd's work but is rarely found separately and is scarce to the market. The OCLC cites three separate examples at the British Library, the National Library Board of Singapore, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

CartographerS


Robert James Elliot (1790 - April 30, 1849) was a British naval officer, painter, and topographical draughtsman active in the early 19th century. Elliot entered the navy on February 26, 2802 as a first-class volunteer. He served as midshipmen until 1806 achieved the rank of Lieutenant in 1808 and commander in 1814. He is best known for his series of sketches of India, published as Views in the East in 1930. Elliot is also known to have produced the first view of Singapore, published for the narrative of Crawfurd's mission in 1828. In addition to his paintings and naval work he also worked tirelessly on the behalf of destitute sailors in London. He suffered form an unknown illness for approximately 4 years before succumbing in 1849. More by this mapmaker...


John Heaviside Clark (December 7, 1771 - October, 1863), a.k.a. 'Waterloo Clark', was a Scottish engraver and painter active in Edinburgh and London in the first half of the 19th century. Clark was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He specialized sea and landscape acquaints. He is best known for his sketches of the Battle of Waterloo (1815) made first-hand on the field of battle - earning him the nickname 'Waterloo Clark. Clark specialized sea and landscape aquatints, which were regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1801 and 1732. He was the author of A practical essay on the art of Colouring and Painting Landscapes, with illustrations, published in 1807, and A practical Illustration of Gilpin's Day, 1824. Clark died in Edinburgh in 1863. Learn More...


Henry Colburn (1784 - August 16, 1855) was a British publisher. Colburn started off in the publishing profession in the Albemarle Street shop of William Earle, a bookseller in London. His next move was to become an assistant at a circulating library on Conduit Street called Morgan's Library, which he took over in 1816. Eventually he signed this business over to Messrs. Saunders and Otley and opened his own publishing firm. He gained initial success with the roman à clef novel Glenavron by Lady Caroline Lamb and which was published in 1816. It went through four editions and sold well. Colburn later expanded on the success of Glenavron and published a series of so-called 'Silver Fork Novels', a series of books that afforded readers the thrill of peering into the lives of rich and aristocratic families. Colburn also started several periodicals, including the New Monthly Magazine, the Literary Gazette, the earliest weekly newspaper dedicated to literature, science, and the arts. Colburn married twice. His second marriage was to Eliza Anne, who survived him. Learn More...

Source


Crawfurd, J., Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the courts of Siam and Cochin-China: exhibiting a view of the actual state of those kingdoms, (London: H. Colburn), 1828.    

Condition


Good. Slight wear on original fold lines. Margin spotting.

References


Liu, Gretchen, Singapore: A Pictorial History, 1819 - 2000, (Didier Millet), page 26, fig. 2. OCLC 1017484137.