The Old Fort, Playhouse, and Holwell's Monument
Artist and publisher Thomas Daniell British
Not on view
Plate 1 from Thomas Daniell's "Views of Calcutta" represents Clive Street with the eastern wall of old Fort William at left, an obelisk-shaped monument at right, and theater in the distance. Constructed around 1700, the Fort had been attacked in 1757 by Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal. Later repaired, it became the Customs House and warehouse for the East India Company in 1766. Hollwell's Monument was erected in 1756 to the memory of the survivors of the "Black Hole," and the theater built by public subscription in 1775. In the foreground, goods that have cleared customs are being carried by bearers or transported by cart.
In 1784 Thomas Daniel obtained permission from the East India Company to travel to India to work as an engraver, assisted by his nephew William. The pair reached Calcutta in 1786 and soon began to issue the first topographical prints of the colonial capital. Twelve etched and aquatinted “Views of Calcutta” were completed by 1788, printed and hand-colored by Indian assistants. The images proved immensely popular in India and Europe, and helped to launch a vogue for Indian ornament and design in Britain.
