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Edmund W Smith, The Moghul Architecture of Fathpur-Sikri. Described and Illustrated by Edmund W. Smith, Archaeological Survey of India., Allahabad: Superintendent, Government Press, North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Vol. XVIII, Parts I–IV, 1894–1898

Part I: xix, pp. 38,120 plates, some coloured; 1894
Part II: v, pp. 34,103 plates; 1896
Part III: x, pp. 60, 91 plates, some coloured; 1897
Part IV: vi, 88 plates, some coloured; 1898
Illustrated with numerous photogravures, architectural elevations, plans, measured drawings, and photographic reproductions, some plates are folding or double-page.
Four parts bound in uniform contemporary half-black morocco over original printed boards, spines with raised bands in gilt, gilt ruling and titling, and a floral device to compartments; edges sprinkled. The original printed front board retained, showing publication details (Allahabad: Government Press, 1894, 1896, 1897, 1898) and retail price (Rs. 20 / £1 6s. 8d.). (each)
12 x 10 in (30 x 25 cm) (each)

A LANDMARK DOCUMENTATION OF MUGHAL IMPERIAL ARCHITECTURE—COMMISSIONED BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND EXECUTED BY EDMUND W. SMITH UNDER THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

Translated with an introduction and notes by William Irvine. Edited under the supervision of the Royal Asiatic Society and published for the Government of India. This monumental four-part portfolio constitutes the most exhaustive 19th-century architectural survey of Fatehpur Sikri—the ephemeral Mughal capital established by Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century. Issued under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India and the Royal Asiatic Society, it formed part of the colonial state’s broader ambition to document and preserve India’s built heritage through methodical visual and textual recording.

Edmund William Smith, then attached to the Archaeological Survey of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, led this project at a formative moment in the field’s development. His work is distinguished by its meticulous architectural draughtsmanship, executed by trained Indian artists from various regional schools and reproduced in photolithography by W. Griggs & Sons, London. The inclusion of measured elevations, plans, and ornamental details marked a significant advance in architectural documentation in India.

Structured across four volumes:
Part I (1894) introduces the city’s general layout and principal palatial enclosures.
Part II (1896) features detailed visual analysis of major monuments and supporting structures.
Part III (1897) expands on constructional systems and decorative vocabularies.
Part IV (1898) completes the typological survey with minor structures and contextual observations.

The plates were intended to inform not only architects and engineers but also colonial administrators and art students—reflecting the pedagogical and imperial objectives of late 19th-century archaeology. Smith’s work predates major syntheses of Indo-Islamic architecture by Percy Brown and E. B. Havell and has since become a foundational reference for scholars of Mughal urbanism and conservation.

Complete sets are rare, often fragmented or in delicate condition due to their large format and limited original issue. This publication remains a landmark in the visual historiography of South Asian architecture and a testament to the technical sophistication and archival ambition of the early Archaeological Survey of India.

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