W L L Scott
Views in The Himalayas
Mrs W L L Scott, Views in The Himalayas: Drawn on the spot by Mrs W L L Scott, London: Messrs Henry Graves & Co, to be sold by Allen & Co. of London and Ostell & Lepage of Calcutta, 1852
Lithographed title page in red, leaf of explanation and dedication leaf; double-column printed in blue; 14 later hand-coloured on tinted lithographs showing the mountains around Simla and the plains surrounding Kussowlie, local residences, views of Koomarsen and Khotghur. Glossary on climate, costume, animals, birds, agricultural products etc.; modern half red morocco over red cloth, with gilt letters over the upper board and spine
62.5 x 45.5 x 2 cm
LIST OF PLATES
1. Title page: Elysium Hill, Simla, and the Government House of Former Years – sunrise / 2. Kusssowlie and the Plains Beyond – sunrise / 3. The Lawrence Asylum and Soniawur Hills – sunset / 4. Suspension Bridge on the High Road from Kussowlie to Hurreepore – sunrise / 5. Simla Prospect Point, Boileau-Gunge, Bentinck Castle, the Suddur Bazaar and unfinished Church – sunrise / 6. Simla, Elysium Hill, on the left - in the distances the Snowy Range, the Peaks of the Greater and Less Shali, etc – sunrise / 7. Simla, the North face of Jukko, the Bank in 1850, the Craigs (Sir Henry Elliott's Residence), Capt. Mavow's House etc, - sunrise / 8. Simla Suddur Bazaar, Racket Court, and Church / 9. Simla, Old Temple (Hindu) above the Waterfalls – sunset / 10. Simla and Jukko from Capt. Metcalfe's Cottage, Mahassoue – sunrise / 11. The Mission Bungalow and School House, Theog, - The Forests of Mahassone and Phago in the distance – sunrise / 12. The Forest Mountain of Huttoo, near Nagkanda – sunset / 13. The Snowy Range from Nagkanda Staging Bungalow – sunset / 14. Mission Bungalow and School House at Khotghur – sunset / 15. The village of Koomarsen on the left-hand range, the Kooloo and Kote Kangaroo Ranges in the distance – sunset
Anne Eliza Montague Scott, (1810-1892) was the eldest daughter of Colonel Tobias Kirkwood of Weston, Somerset. In 1838 she married Lieutenant William Lloyd Lewis Scott of the East India Company Bengal Army in Bath, Somerset, and in the following year accompanied him on his return voyage to re-join his Regiment in India.
About a decade or so later, Mrs Scott was informed that the Governor-General (who was Lord Dalhousie at the time), and others had expressed a desire for some accurate views of Himalayan scenes that travellers were familiar with. Recognising in this an opportunity to “employ her time profitably and satisfactorily in the service of her poorer brethren” [sic]., and to exercise her talents for a good cause, she resolved to try to satisfy the demand in aid and in support of The Lawrence Asylum, Sanawar which relied entirely upon charitable donations, subscriptions, and public contributions at the time. In the preface of her book of drawings which she subsequently published, Mrs Scott writes, “...with this object in view I commenced the undertaking, though with slight prospects of success; delicate health, limited hours, and the rainy season, materially interrupting the progress of the drawings, which required to be finished on the spot. However, it pleased God to aid (me) most signally in surmounting all these difficulties...”
She journeyed extensively through the Simla Hills between 1850 and 1851, making several pencil and crayon drawings on lithographic plates. 15 of these were selected for her large folio book, Views in the Himalayas. The plates depict scenes sketched from hill stations, staging bungalows and various viewpoints along the old bridle route from Kalka to Shimla and on the Hindustan and Tibet Road to Mahasu, Narkanda and Kot Garh that she visited. The printed lithographs were hand-coloured by Thomas Picken, W. Walton, and W. Simpson after Anne Eliza Scott; published in 1852 by Messrs Henry Graves & Co., and sold by Messrs Allen & Co. in London, and by Messrs Ostell & Lepage of Calcutta in India. (Source: www.oldsanawarian.com, online)
Reference: J R Abbey, Travel in Aquatint and Lithography 1770-1860, 500
NON-EXPORTABLE