1846 Ciceri View of Singapore Harbor and City

One of the earliest obtainable views of Singapore, this is Eugène Cicéri's 1846 view of Singapore drawn from original sketches and maps compiled during Dumont d'Urville's (1790 - 1842) circumnavigation of the globe. The source sketches were created when d'Urville's ships, Astrolabe and Zellee, were at Singapore between June 27 and July 2, 1839.

Understanding the View

The view looks eastward from Government Hill (Fort Canning Park) towards the still small Singapore town and harbor. The Singapore River flows from the right-hand side of the print towards the harbor. Jackson Bridge, which crosses the river, leads to a large enclosure, Edward Boustead's warehouse or godown. A cluster of men in Malay dress lounge on the western side of the hill. At the mouth of the Singapore River, Fort Fullerton, built in 1830, is evident. The oriental-seeming tower near the harbor is the Court House.

D'Urville's Third Expedition of 1837 - 1840

Scarcely back from this Second Voyage, Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville's (1790 - 1842) immediately began canvassing for a third voyage - this time to the southern latitudes. Although he hoped to explore the in the tropics (don't we all), King Louis-Phillipe was keen for a French voyage of discovery capable of rivaling Cook's achievements in the Antarctic. He was commanded to place the French flag as far south possible in the Antarctic Waddell Sea. The crew was even promised a bonus of 100 francs when 75° South was attained. His two ships Astrolabe under d'Urville, and the Zélée under Charles Jacquinot set sail from Toulon in September of 1837. Along the way they visited New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Chile, Brazil Tenerife, the Cape of Good Hope, and more. They crossed the Antarctic Convergence on January 16, 1840 and two days later found themselves in the middle of an ice sea. Pressing on, they hoisted the Tricolour at Cape Geodesie and the voyage hydrographer, Clément Adrien Vincendon-Dumoulin (1811 - 1858) prepared an impressively accurate map of the cost. There, they met the even more ambitious U.S. Exploring Expedition commanded by Charles Wilkes (1798 - 1877). Turning north again, the crew celebrated, popping champagne when they crossed the Arctic Circle and sailed into warmer climes. Back in France, d'Urville was celebrated, promoted to rear-admiral, awarded the gold medallion of the Société de Géographie - their highest honor. Two years later d'Urville and his family died in a tragic train derailment - France's first - on their way from Versailles to Paris.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by the Paris artist Étienne Eugène Cicéri based upon the original sketches compiled by the d'Urville Expedition (1837 - 1840) in 1839. It was engraved and printed by Thierry Frères in Paris for publication by Gide in d'Urville's Voyage au pole sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée. Both the atlas volume of d'Urville's narrative (Atlas Pittoresque) and the separate views are extremely scarce. We have identified an institutional example in poor condition in the National Library of Australia, and another at the Library Board of Singapore.