RARES LIVRES ET AUTOGRAPHES: Antique Books § Autographs, including Russian Books, Rare & Lifetime Editions, Photographs § Works on Paper Thursday, October 23, 2025 - 14:30
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SIMPSON WILLIAM (1823-1899) The Seat of War in the East. First and second series, 2 vol in 1. London: 1855-1856. First edition

Lot 649
3 0004 000
69 of 80 pp.; 57x39.5 cm. Toned and coloured lithographs depicting battle scenes from the Crimean War, executed by artist and war correspondent William Simpson. Sheet with dedication to Her Majesty the Queen. Lithographs by E. Walker, Needham, W. Walton, A. Vinter, T. Dutton, E. Morin. In a contemporary half-leather binding, gilt spine, triple gilt edging. Good condition. Rubbing on the binding, foxing. Additionally bound in: Colour lithograph ‘Spring in Crimea’, two folding panoramas from the original Colnaga series. The first is hand-coloured, ‘The city and harbour of Sevastopol before the siege, taken from the watchtower in the centre of the city’ by Carlo Bossoli. The second is a panorama by E.T. Dolby, ‘Fortifications of Sveaborg and the city of Helsingfors, Russian fortresses on the Baltic Sea’ (the torn sheet has been glued back together). The panorama of Sevastopol (140 cm x 40 cm) is extremely rare. William Simpson (1823-1899) was a British battle painter and war correspondent of Scottish origin who, after the start of the Crimean War, was commissioned to create images reflecting the reality of the front lines during that period. Simpson arrived in Crimea on 15 November 1854 to record the events of the siege and storming of Sevastopol. During his stay at the front, he sent his watercolours to London, where Day & Son lithographers transferred them to stone. By 1855, two parts of the album had been published and were dedicated to Queen Victoria, the artist's main patron.


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