Opium Wars--Amoy and Chusan--Crawford, Lieut. R.B.

This View of the Successful Attack of Her Majesty's combined Forces, upon the Heights of Chusan, on the 1st October 1841. Under Vice Admiral Sir William Parker G.C.B. and Lieut. General Sir Hugh Gough, G.C.B., [London: Ackermann & Co., 1843], hand-coloured aquatint by H. Papprill after a painting by W. Joy after a drawing by Capt. Crawford; together: 4 prints (visible area 350 x 640mm.), uniformly framed and glazed, rather browned and spotted

Admiral Sir William Parker, first baronet, (1781-1866); thence by descent to the present owner

A rare set of prints showing the British squadron in China, from the collection of Admiral Sir William Parker, who was appointed commander-in-chief in China on 12 May 1841 and subsequently took command of the British squadron at Hong Kong on 10 August; after capturing Amoy, Ningpo, Woosung, and Shanghai Parker took Chinkiang and closed the entrance of the Grand Canal on 21 July 1842. "[Parker's] command in China revealed a certain grasp of the problems of power projection and riverine amphibious warfare; he exploited steam power and worked well with his military and civil colleagues. More than any other officer of his generation, the calm, confident, and courteous Parker represented the navy at the mid-nineteenth century." (ODNB)

Also included in this lot is an original printed prospectus (including a list of subscribers) issued by Ackermann & Co. (4to (254 x 204mm.), 3pp., dated October 29, 1842) for the 3 hand-coloured prints depicting "The Capture of Amoy." There are 35 named subscribers and 28 additional subscribers, each of whom subscribed to one set of prints, except for Captain Woodrow of the ship Ariel who subscribed to 12 sets; the total number of subscribers' sets thefore being 74.