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Edmund W Smith, Portfolio of Indian Architectural Drawings: Part I, Issued by the Government North-West Provinces and Oudh, London: W H Allen & Co.; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.; Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.; Bombay: Thacker & Co., Ltd. and Allahabad: The Supt. Govt. Press, North-West Provinces and Oudh, 1897

Title page, [2], 52 loose photolithographed plates by W Griggs including 50 black and white plates and 2 colour plates (plate nos. 39 and 40) each measuring 56 x 38.2 cm; loose as issued in publisher's portfolio cloth with ribbon and gilt text on the front board measuring 56 x 38.2 x 2.8 cm

The portfolio consists of high-quality architectural drawings, including plans, elevations, sections, and decorative details. Each drawing is executed with precision, reflecting Smith’s expertise and the meticulous standards of the time. The illustrations are complemented by descriptive text, providing context and analysis that enhance the understanding of each structure.

Plates 1 to 7: Turkish Sultana’s House
Plates 8 to 20: Rajah Birbal's House
Plates 21 to 26: Jodh Bai's Palace
Plates 27 to 38: The Jama Masjid
Plates 39 to 47: Salim Chisti's Tomb
Plates 48 to 52: Sikanadra, near Agra

The originals from which the accompanying photolithographs have been reproduced were prepared, in the first instance, amongst others, to illustrate the Report of the Archaeological Survey of India entitled “The Moghul Architecture of Fathpur Sikri.” The size of the Archaeological Survey Reports being only 13 by 9.75 inches, the illustrations were necessarily, in some instances, on too small a scale to be of much practical use to architects, engineers, art students, and others. They served the purpose for which they were intended; but to increase their utility and to further spread a knowledge of one of the most interesting periods of Indian Architecture, the Government of the North-West Provinces and Oudh decided to reproduce a selection of the drawings on a sufficiently large scale to make them of more use to the scientific building professions, artisans, &c.

Fatehpur Sikri, likened by some to Pompeii, was built by Akbar as a summer capital between the years 1565 and 1605 A.D, or about the time Holland House, Hatfield, &c., were erected. The Mughal school of architecture was then at its zenith, and the palatial edifices erected at Fatehpur Sikri rank amongst the finest specimens of Mughal architecture. As the architecture of the city is fully dealt with, it was deemed better to illustrate a few typical buildings, elucidated by details, rather than a number without them.

The Mughals, to a great extent, relied on painted decoration for beautifying their buildings, and a couple of specimens of the style of decoration employed at Fatehpur Sikri are given in colour plates of XXXIX and XL.

The original drawings were prepared, under the compiler’s direction and supervision, by native draughtsman, who received preliminary training in the various Indian Schools of Art before entering the Archaeological Department. The plates have been prepared by Messrs. W Griggs and Sons, who had taken great efforts to reproduce the drawings in a careful way and the generally the trouble taken over the work.

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