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A SOUVENIR OF THE SPECTACLE: THE 1832 MADRAS PANORAMA BY WILLIAM DANIELL AND E.T. PARRIS AFTER AUGUSTUS EARLE

This sepia aquatint scroll panorama on joined sheets, measuring approx. 147 x 970 mm, is mounted on the original wooden roller, as issued. Titled “MADRAS” in the upper margin, with forty engraved references to key architectural and civic landmarks annotated in the lower margin. The composition depicts a sweeping... A SOUVENIR OF THE SPECTACLE: THE 1832 MADRAS PANORAMA BY WILLIAM DANIELL AND E.T. PARRIS AFTER AUGUSTUS EARLE

This sepia aquatint scroll panorama on joined sheets, measuring approx. 147 x 970 mm, is mounted on the original wooden roller, as issued. Titled “MADRAS” in the upper margin, with forty engraved references to key architectural and civic landmarks annotated in the lower margin. The composition depicts a sweeping eastward view from the sea inward, including Fort St. George, Portuguese Square, St. Andrew’s Church, Black Town Gate, Customs House, and a fleet of ships in the Madras Roads. A promenade in the foreground shows both native and European figures, capturing the lively maritime and urban activity of the early 19th-century colonial capital.

This rare print is most likely the key plate or souvenir issued to visitors attending the immersive 360-degree panorama of Madras, painted by William Daniell, R.A., and E.T. Parris, based on original 1829 drawings by Augustus Earle, a widely traveled English artist. The full-scale circular panorama was exhibited in a custom-built rotunda at Coromandel Place, London, between 1830 and 1832, and this aquatint served to document or commemorate the experience.

“So correct a representation has been given of Madras in the panorama painted by Mr. Daniell and Mr. Parris, that no verbal description can approach the vivid and extraordinary truth with which it realises the whole scene to the beholder's eye.”
— Mr. Gaunter, Oriental Annual, 1834 (p.6)

William Daniell (1769–1837), renowned for his Oriental Scenery series and nephew of Thomas Daniell, was a founding figure in the British visual documentation of India. Edmund Thomas Parris (1793–1873), painter and illustrator, was later appointed historical painter to Queen Adelaide and played a significant role in London’s panorama movement, including the monumental rotunda at Regent’s Park. Augustus Earle’s sketches, created during his 1829 travels, provided the basis for the panorama’s topographical accuracy.

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