Calcutta as in MDCCLVI

[1803]

Later hand-coloured copper engraving on paper

Print size: 7.75 x 28.25 in (20 x 71.6 cm)
Sheet size: 10.75 x 29.5 in (27 x 74.7 cm)
With mount: 15.5 x 35.8 in (39.5 x 91 cm)

Beautiful vista of Calcutta (Kolkatta), the major port city in the Indian state of Bengal, circa 18th century.

Line engraving by Thomas Kitchin from Robert Orme's book titled A History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan: From the Year MDCCXLV. To which is Prefixed, a Dissertation on the Establishments Made by Mahomedan Conquerors in Indostan.

An illustration of the city of Calcutta in 1756. Ships of the fleet in the harbour. Buildings on the shore. A commercial trade port, 'Calcutta as in MDCCLVI.' The British East India Company began their invasion of India in 1756 when they defeated the Nawab of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey.

Sir John Call (1732 - 1801)
Call served as a military engineer in India and was the first baronet of Whiteford, Cornwall. At the age of seventeen, he was brought to the attention of renowned mathematician Benjamin Robins, who at the time held the positions of captain general of artillery and chief engineer in the colonies owned by the East India Company. After departing from England in 1749, Robins reached Fort William in July 1750, bringing eight aspiring writers with him, including Call, who served as his secretary. After Robins' death in July 1751 and the outbreak of war with the Coromandel coast kingdoms, Call—who had been appointed writer on the Madras establishment that year—was hired as an engineer to continue building the defensive works at Fort St. David. He went on an expedition with Captain (later Lord) Clive at the beginning of 1752 to fight the French, who had taken over the province of Arcot and were pillaging all the way to Madras' gates. Following Clive's tremendous accomplishments, the army marched back to Fort St. David, where Call was appointed engineer-in-chief before he turned 20. That status remained with him until 1757, when he was named chief engineer at Madras and shortly after that, the entire Coromandel coast. Call served with the troops in Mysore for most of the 1767–1778 campaign against Hyder Ali. He was first appointed to the governor's council in 1768, and shortly after, the East India Company promoted him from the fourth to the third seat in council as a thank you for his general efforts. Clive aggressively advised him to take over the Madras government as soon as possible, but after learning of his father's passing, he made the decision to travel back home, despite Clive's strong encouragement to stay.

Thomas Kitchin (1718 - 1784)
Thomas Kitchin was an engraver and cartographer from Britain. Kitchin was the oldest child born in a family of several in Southwark, England. From 1732 until 1739, he worked as an apprentice for map engraver Emanuel Bowen. In December 1739, he wed Sarah, Bowen's daughter. By 1741, Kitchin was operating on his own, and in 1746, he started hiring apprentices for his company. Beginning in 1754, he apprenticed his son Thomas Bowen Kitchin. By 1755, Kitchin had settled in Holborn Hill, where his company produced a wide range of engraved goods, such as caricatures and portraits. In 1762, he wed Jane, his second wife. Kitchin was referred to as the King's hydrographer starting in 1773; his son subsequently held this role as well. Until the end of his life, he kept making maps after retiring to St. Albans.

Throughout his career, Kitchin, a prolific engraver renowned for his technical proficiency, crisp text, and striking etched ornamentation, produced a number of significant pieces. In 1746, he created John Elphinstone's map of Scotland, and in 1748–1749, he created Geographia Scotiae, the first pocket atlas of Scotland. Together with Thomas Jefferys, another of Bowen's trainees, he co-published The Small English Atlas in 1749. Together with Emanuel Bowen, he serialised The Large English Atlas from 1749 until 1760. The latter was the first serious attempt to comprehensively cover the entire country and the most significant county atlas since the Elizabethan period. The significant John Mitchell map of North America, which was utilised at the Paris and Versailles peace negotiations, was engraved by Kitchin in 1755. He created the 12-sheet road map of England and Wales in 1770 and the designs for New York by Bernhard Ratzer in 1769–1770. He released The Traveller's Guide Through England and Wales in 1783.

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