Wood’s early panoramic views of Calcutta. William Wood senior, the artist’s father, began selling his son’s lithographs in parts in 1831. By the time all the parts were completed in 1833, other publishing houses, including Ackermann in the Strand and Parbury and Allen had also acquired selling rights.
Wood arrived in Calcutta in 1828 to assist his brother, George, who was the Superintendent of the Asiatic Lithographic Press, established in the 1820s. William returned to London only in 1832. He must, therefore, have drawn most of the lithographic stones in Calcutta (probably at the Asiatic Press and forwarded them to his father in London. His series of prints presents an almost continuous panorama of buildings as viewed from the Maidan. Starting with Chandpaul Ghat, they extend along Esplanade Row and then turn into Chowringhee. Several mansions appear still under construction using bamboo scaffolding; in the foreground, people tend their animals, wash their clothes or themselves in the public tanks and relax in groups, smoking their hookahs.
Abbey (Travel), 495; Bobins 277.
William Wood
