Cowie, Henry Edward Colvin (sold)
Henry Edward Colvin Cowie (December 17, 1872 – 1963) was a British-Indian military officer and engineer. Cowie was born in Calcutta, the son of Henry George Cowie, an official in the Indian Finance Department. Cowie was sent to England where he studied at the Shrewsbury School and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, graduating in 1893 with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Cowie returned to India in 1895 where he worked as a deputy engineer at the Indian Public Works Department. When the Boxer Rebellion (1899 – 1901) laid siege to the Beijing Legation Quarter, Cowie was sent with the British contingent of the China Relief Expedition to lift the siege. There he was tasked to create an accurate map of the British Legation showing the events of the siege – which is today the most important map of that event. Cowie remained in China until 1903, where his engineering expertise helped to rebuild British infrastructure damaged during the rebellion. He returned to India after 1903 where worked with the Indian State Railways before committing to a military service from 1914 – 1920. In 1920, Cowie returned to his civilian career at the India State Railways, this time as Chief Engineer, a position he held until his retirement in 1927. Leaving India forever, Cowie settled in Stockport, Cheshire, England, where he remained until his death 35 years later. His son, Henry John Cowie, was an important Hong Kong businessman after World War II.
The first printing of the most authoritative and influential map of the siege of the British Legation in Peking (Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion. Printed in Beijing!
Plan of British Legation Peking shewing defences June to August 1900.
sold
- Digital Map Information
- Suitable for large format printing
- File Size: 6.79 MB
- File Type: ZIP / TIFF
- ICC color profile embedded
- Delivered instantly via download link
An otherwise unobtainable rarity of the utmost historical importance produced in Beijing in the aftermath of the 1900 Boxer Rebellion (Yihetuan Movement, 義和團運動). This is the first, largest, and best official map Beijing's British Legation to illustrate the events of the Boxer Rebellion (1899 - 1901) and the siege of the Legation Quarter.
The map is the product of meticulous on-site surveys and post-siege interviews conducted by British Engineer Henry Edward Colvin Cowie. When the Boxer Rebellion laid siege to the Beijing Legation Quarter, Cowie was drafted from his civilian position with the Indian Public Works Department and sent to Beijing as part of the Bombay Sappers and Miners contingent of the China Relief Expedition. The map was printed on site and bears the Bo. S. and M. (Bombay Sapper's and Miners) imprint, suggesting it was printed with field lithography equipment carried with the Relief Expedition. This is thus the first printing of Cowie's important map and is the source of several subsequent editions which appeared in various influential books and articles on the Boxer Rebellion.
Lithograph signatures of both Lieut. H.E.C. Cowie, and his superior, Lieutenant Colonel George Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff, appear in the lower right. It is also signed in manuscript by Captain Francis Garden Poole (1870 - 1950), an important figure in the defense of the British Legation, this providing the map with an excellent provenance. (more details)
The map is the product of meticulous on-site surveys and post-siege interviews conducted by British Engineer Henry Edward Colvin Cowie. When the Boxer Rebellion laid siege to the Beijing Legation Quarter, Cowie was drafted from his civilian position with the Indian Public Works Department and sent to Beijing as part of the Bombay Sappers and Miners contingent of the China Relief Expedition. The map was printed on site and bears the Bo. S. and M. (Bombay Sapper's and Miners) imprint, suggesting it was printed with field lithography equipment carried with the Relief Expedition. This is thus the first printing of Cowie's important map and is the source of several subsequent editions which appeared in various influential books and articles on the Boxer Rebellion.
Lithograph signatures of both Lieut. H.E.C. Cowie, and his superior, Lieutenant Colonel George Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff, appear in the lower right. It is also signed in manuscript by Captain Francis Garden Poole (1870 - 1950), an important figure in the defense of the British Legation, this providing the map with an excellent provenance. (more details)