Plan of Civil and Military Cantonments of Cawnpoor Litho in the Supt of Reve. Survs. Office under the orders of H.M. Elliot Secretary to the Sudder Board of Revenue North Western Provinces in charge .

£7,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A lovely copy of this unlikely survivor: Indian cartographer Joynarain Biswass’s hitherto unknown plan of Cawnpoor (Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh), printed in Allahabad . At that time, the city was home to over 7,000 European soldiers, Indian sepoys, and civilian merchants. It was considered the major British garrison of the Upper Doab. Based upon the survey work of Revenue Surveyor (later Major-General) Saunders Alexius Abbott (1811-1894), this large, finely detailed plan depicts the entire civil station and adjacent cantonments stretching along the south bank of the Ganges at Cawnpoor (modern Kanpur) 15 years before the 1857 Indian Rebellion. Dozens of locations are given, and virtually every structure—military or civilian—is drawn in plan and labelled. A contemporary hand has added more than 200 red manuscript numbers, evidently creating a keyed property index that was likely prepared as an administrative tool. The banks of the Ganges form the northern edge of the map, behind that lie the European Infantry Lines, European Cavalry Lines, Horse Artillery Lines, Foot Artillery Lines, East Artillery Lines, and Dragoon Lines (each with parallel rows of barracks), along with canteens, hospitals, riding schools, and powder magazines. South and east of the military core lie extensive parade grounds (labelled “Grand Parade”), a race stands beside the Grand Trunk Road, a Burial Ground, and the “Site of Old Cavalry Lines.” Across the cantonment boundary (shown by a dashed line and small pill

• Binding: Hardcover

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