ATKINSON, Captain George Francklin

Rare original hand-coloured lithographs after Captain George Francklin Atkinson from The Campaign in India 1857–58, depicting two contrasting aspects of the Indian Rebellion. The first illustrates fierce street fighting in the Sabzi Mandi district during the Siege of Delhi, while the second offers an intimate view of life within a British officer’s tent, complete with attendants, camp furnishings and military equipment. Drawn from Atkinson’s firsthand experiences as an officer of the Bengal Engineers and finely printed by Day & Son, Lithographers to the Queen, these plates rank among the finest visual records of the Indian Mutiny and are notable for their documentary accuracy, artistic quality and historical importance.

Robert Melville Grindlay