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Major John Luard, Views in India, Saint Helena, and Car Nicobar, Drawn from Nature and on Stone by Major John Luard, London: J. Graf, printer to Her Majesty, circa 1832-38

244 pages, including 1 hand-coloured lithograph frontispiece, 1 hand-coloured lithographed title page, and 58 hand-coloured lithograph plates, having a descriptive text for each plate; half black morocco over moiré green cloth boards, spine with gilt tooling and lettered “Views in India – Luard,” marbled edges, later housed in a protective custom blue cloth box.
14.5 x 10.5 x 1.25 in (36.6 x 27 x 3.5 cm)


LIST OF PLATES
1. Title page / 2. Uncaptioned vignette frontispiece / 3. Major Kenned's House, Simla / 4. Itinerant Snake Catchers / 5. Cutteb Minar Shellie / 6. Tomb of Shumse-Un-Din Altumsh / 7. Gun at Bhurtpore / 8. Indian Armour / 9. Camp at Shekoabad / 10. Selim Gurh Dheli / 11. A Bugerow / 12. Boonnee Durwaza Lucknow / 13. Skinners Horse / 14. Hindostannee Costume / 15. Pilgrims / 16. Entrance to the Taj Mahal, Agra / 17. Taj Mahal, Agra / 18. Shawl Goats / 19. Itinerant Musicians / 20. Taj Mahal, Agra / 21. Sonnah Waller / 22. Festival of Buckrah Eade / 23. Chandnee Chauk, - Dheli / 24. Bazaar - Barampore / 25. Native Cottage near Simla / 26. Toglakabad / 27. Bhurtpore 1826 / 28. Missourie, from Landour / 29. Bhurtpore 1826 / 30. Bhurtpore 1826 / 31. Shere Shaws, Maosque - Dheli / 32. Shere Shaws Fort, Dheli / 33. Bhesties / 34. Dewanee Khass - Dieg / 35. Hindoo Ruin - Dheli / 36. Tomb at Dheli / 37. Near Lucknow / 38. Simla / 39. From Missourie / 40. Near Monghyr / 41. Aboo's Tomb - Merut / 42. Taj Mahal - Agra / 43. Benares / 44. Fagoo / 45. Broung / 46. Ruins of Delhi - from Adam Khawn's Tomb / 47. A Nautch / 48. Unloading Baggage / 49. The Marchioness of Ely & General Hewitt / 50. Crossing the Line / 51. Albatross Shooting / 52. Car - Nicobar / 53. Car - Nicobar / 54. Car - Nicobar / 55. Saint Helena / 56. Huts Gate / 57. Longwood / 58. The Room in which Buonaparte Died / 59. Buonaparte's Tomb / 60. Latitude 27 degrees South.

FROM BHURTPORE TO SAINT HELENA: MAJOR LUARD’S VIEWS IN INDIA, SAINT HELENA, AND CAR NICOBAR, 1832–38 - A Complete Suite of 60 Hand-Coloured Lithographic Plates Etched by the Artist

Major John Luard's Views in India, Saint Helena, and Car Nicobar is among the most comprehensive and visually arresting lithographic records of British colonial presence in Asia and the South Atlantic, encompassing the architectural, military, and cultural scenes encountered during Luard’s postings across the Empire.

Originally issued in parts between 1832 and 1838, the work consists of 60 finely executed lithographed plates, drawn from Luard's own topographical and ethnographic observations while stationed in India and during his voyage home via the Nicobar Islands and Saint Helena. Of particular interest are his depictions of Anglo-Indian military life, local dress, architectural ruins, bazaar scenes, and commemorative vignettes of campaigns such as the siege of Bhurtpore (1826). The suite concludes with highly evocative images of Saint Helena, including Longwood House, Napoleon’s Tomb, and the Room in which Buonaparte Died— cementing this work’s historical value beyond the subcontinent.

Executed in collaboration with leading lithographic printers including Graf & Soret and Charles Hullmandel, this folio rivals the visual quality of the Daniells’ Oriental Scenery, Grindlay’s Scenery, Costumes, and Architecture, and Prinsep’s Delhi views. The folio is also notable for capturing Car Nicobar, one of the earliest visual records of that region by a European observer.

For this volume, Luard etched the illustrations on stone himself, as the cost of line engraving was expensive at the time. Due to its part-issue nature and as the book was composed over a long period of time, its plates were printed by multiple publishers, including C. Hullmandel, Maguire, Lemercier & Co., Maguire & Co., and Graf & Soret, and it is rarely found as a complete set with all the 60 plates.

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