Daniell, Samuel

A Picturesque Illustration of the Scenery, Animals, and Native Inhabitants, of the Island of Ceylon. London: T. Bensley, 15 January 1808



Large oblong folio (17 ¼ x 23 5/8 in.; 440 x 600 mm). 12 handcolored aquatint plates by William Daniell after Samuel Daniell with letterpress captions pasted to versos, all with tissue guards; crease in title, light marginal soiling, occasional slight marginal spotting. Contemporary red straight-grain morocco, decorated in a panel design with gold rules and blind roll-tooled floral pattern, gold-stamped title label "Views in Ceylon" on upper cover; leather removed from central panel on each cover exposing board which is a bit scuffed, edges, corners and joints worn.

Abbey, Travel 410; Nissen ZBI 1036; Tooley 170

Samuel Daniell (1775-1811) was educated at the East India College at Hertford and trained as an artist there. Unable to survive as an artist in London, he travelled to South Africa where his drawings formed the basis of his magnificent African Scenery and Animals (1804-1805). He arrived in Ceylon in 1806 under the patronage of the governor Sir Thomas Maitland, where he was appointed Secretary to the Board of Revenue and Commerce, then Ranger of Woods and Forests. This latter role gave him freedom to travel the island and record what he saw. He sent a number of his drawings home to his older brother William for engraving, resulting in the present volume. He died of tropical fever in Ceylon on 16 December 1811.

"In Martin Hardie's opinion [in English Coloured Books] the best plates are those of landscape, but many will find the natural history plates more interesting both technically and artistically. These plates are partly printed in colour, which enables a brilliant effect to be obtained, particularly on the bodies of the animals, where the colour is broken by tiny white flecks of the aquatint grain, giving a subtle sheen, and conveying the impression of smooth bulk, especially on the flanks of the elephant" (Abbey).