Panorama of Calcutta

Panorama of Calcutta

Frederick Fiebig

1847

These six sectional images are lithograph prints that comprise one drawing by Frederick Fiebig entitled Panorama of Calcutta. Together the images depict a detailed view of Calcutta, India in 1847. The first section shows Fort William, which was rebuilt to the south of Calcutta in 1757 and was enabled with extensive defenses. The greens between Fort William and the Government House, complete with Calcutta Cricket Club’s cricket field can be found on the second section of the drawing. On the third section one can view the Government House, Eden Gardens, and a temporary dwelling for nearby troops. The fourth section depicts Esplanade Row and large water tank on the Maidan, as well as the mosque built in 1842 by Prince Ghulam Mahomed. The fifth section shows the main European residential area of Calcutta, known as Chowringhee Road. Finally in the sixth section of Fiebig’s drawing one can see an extension of Chowringhee Road as well as tanks that supply the city’s main water supply and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Together these images form a representation of Calcutta in the late 1840’s.

As regards the novel The Lamplighter, this portrayal of Calcutta, India was likely close to what the author had in mind when she set the travels of Willie Sullivan there. This lithograph is helpful because it discloses the setup of the city in minute detail, allowing the reader to more fully understand the setting in which Willie received his training during the 1840’s. For example, by looking at the drawing one can ascertain the presence of the government at the time, the places available for worship and leisure, and even what source Willie’s water was likely to be coming from. Though not much is disclosed in the novel about Willie’s exact movements throughout the city, by looking at the lithograph of Fiebig’s drawing the reader can better imagine what Willie’s life would have been like there.

Whitney Olson

Fiebig, Frederick. Panorama of Calcutta. 1847. British Library. Frederick Fiebig. Ed. T. Black. Calcutta: Asiatic Lithographic Press, 1847. Lithograph. Web. 19 March, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.bl.uk.

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Lithograph of drawing.