“Drawings by Douglas Hamilton”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

There are at least two hundred and twelve detailed drawings by Douglas Hamilton of South Indian landscapes, game animals and forestry operations. Eighty seven of Hamilton's careful drawings of the Annaimalai Hills, Palani Hills and Shevaroy Hills are in the British Library,^[1] ninety six drawings were published in his autobiography, Records of Sport in Southern India... and an additional thirty one were published in Forests and Gardens of South India.

Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Hamilton (1818 – 1892) was a British Indian Army officer, gazetted to the 21st Regiment of the Madras Native Infantry from 1837 to 1871.^[1] Hamilton was a well known forester, surveyor and illustrator of the early British hill stations in South India and a famous sportsman, shikari, big-game hunter and trophy collector. He was an acute observer of nature and a gentleman.^[2]

Though executed only in pen and ink or pencil, these drawings have artistic merit due to the artists skillful use of hatching and stippling to achieve realistic texture, shading and perspective. Hamilton's illustration of subjects and backgrounds that are unfamiliar to most people, creates initial interest in his drawings. His effective portrayal of actual or implied recent or future dramatic action heightens the viewers interest in his subjects. Hamilton selected his sketches that best illustrate scenes in his writing.^[3] This implies there were also additional drawings, however their existence is now unknown.

Government drawings

In 1862 Colonel Hamilton was relieved of routine regimental Army duties and given a roving commission by Sir Charles Trevelyan, the Finance Minister of India and former Governor of Madras Presidency, to conduct surveys and make drawings for the Government of all the hill plateaus in Southern India that might suit as Sanitaria, or quarters for European troops. Thereafter, Douglas Hamilton was on "special duty" with the 44th Regiment, Madras Native Infantry.^[4]

A series of five albums of careful drawings of the Annaimalai Hills, Palani Hills and Shevaroy Hills was the result of this commission. While at work on this commission he had great opportunities to follow his favorite pursuit of big game hunting, and also to observe the habits of the various animals inhabiting the different districts. These well-known drawings showed him as an accurate observer and a careful draughtsman. Each series of drawings was accompanied by a Survey article describing all aspects of the district.^[5] Some of his publications about these surveys include:

Albums at British Library

The India Office Records in the Asian and African Print Room at the British Library has five albums of Hamilton's work that include eighty six drawings.^[7] These albums are:

WD1351, Hamilton, Douglas (1818-1892) is an album of 12 pen and ink drawings of landscapes in the Shevaroy Hills made in 1861. The 24 folio volume is entitled: Sketches of the Shevaroy Hills by Lieut-Col. Douglas Hamilton, Madras army. 1861.

Printed descriptions are attached to each picture. Size of the volume is 22.5 by 31.75 inches.

WD566, Hamilton, Douglas (1818-1892) is an album of 26 pen and ink drawings of views in the Palni Hills. This 60 folio volume of views in the Palni Hills was made in 1862, with printed titles and descriptions and some drawings inscribed with titles in pencil. Size of the volume is 20 by 25 inches. It was deposited c. 1866.^[9] These drawings are:

WD1350, Hamilton, Douglas (1818-1892); is an album of 17 pen and ink drawings of landscapes in the Palni Hills, 1862 (35 folios), Volume entitled: Sketches of the Pulni Mountains. Printed descriptions are attached to each picture and there are pencil descriptions on the sketches. Size of the volume is 22.5 by 31.75 inches, deposited c. 1866.^[10] These drawings are:

WD567, Hamilton, Douglas (1818-1892) is an album of 17 pen and ink drawings of views in the Anaimalai Hills (Cochin and Madras) 1863. European school / British school, (30 folios) 1863, with printed titles and descriptions. All signed: ‘D. Hamilton delt.’ Size of the volume is 20.75 by 14.5 inches. It was deposited c. 1866.^[11] These drawings are:

WD568, Hamilton, Douglas (1818-1892); is an album of 15 pen and ink drawings (33 folios) of views in the Anaimalai Hills (Cochin and Madras). 1863, with printed titles and descriptions. (Inscribed on fly leaf: ‘India Museum, received from public deposit on 4th June 1866’). Size of the volume is 22 by 28.5 inches.^[12] These drawings are:

Records of Sport

Hamilton's brother Edward was the editor of Douglas Hamilton's 1892 autobiography, "Records of Sport in Southern India, Chiefly on the Annamullay, Nielgherry and Pulney Mountains, also Including Notes on Singapore, Java and Labuan, ...". It is about "years long gone by when the muzzle loader, with all its drawbacks, was the chief weapon in use."^[1] All ninety five drawings in Records of Sport... (with the exception of three) were taken from his sketch books. All scenes illustrated in these drawings are based on the actual hunting experiences of Colonel Hamilton described in full detail in his Autobiography.

Those he drew in Indian ink were transferred as facsimiles by means of photo-etching. The others, sketched in pencil, were copied by Mr. J. T. Smit with such care and accuracy that the touch, as well as the spirit, of the original sketches was fully retained. The three plates of the two species of florican and of the jungle cat are from drawings made expressly for Records of Sport by Mr. Smit. Several types of big game are the primary subject of most of these Drawings. Only a few of the drawings overlap with those in the India Office collection. He also drew several landscapes of Singapore, Java and Labuan during his visit there in 1848. The Drawings are:

Galleries of 95 drawings

Forests and Gardens of South India

In 1861, 13 plates and 17 figures of drawings by Douglas Hamiton were published in The Forests and Gardens of South India written by his friend and co-conservator Hugh Francis Cleghorn. Several of the drawings were lithographed by Mr. W. H. Macfarane, Edinburgh. Most of the drawings were technical illustrations of forestry operations, though some depicted landscapes of forested areas.^[13] These drawings are:

Self-portraits

Hamilton often portrayed himself in his drawings. He is shown at different times with mutton chop sideburns or a full beard. He is almost always shown holding his rifle and facing to the right. These self-portraits are cropped from drawings in Records of Sport...:

References

1. ^¹{{cite book|last=Hamilton|first=General Douglas|title=Records of sport in southern India chiefly on the Annamullay, Nielgherry and Pulney mountains, also including notes on Singapore, Java and Labuan, from journals written between 1844 and 1870|editor=Hamilton, Edward|publisher= R. H. Porter|location=London|year=1892|pages= Illustrated, photo. Frontis of the author. Numerous illustrations, some full page. 284 pages. Quarto.|oclc=4008435|url=http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/262468650?page=frame&url=%3D%3FUTF-8%3FB%3FaHR0cDovL3d3dy5hcmNoaXZlLm9yZy9kZXRhaWxzL3JlY29yZHNvZnNwb3J0aW4wMGhhbWlyaWNo%3F%3D&title=&linktype=digitalObject&detail=}}
2. ^Hamilton, p. xxxviii
3. ^Hamilton, p. v.
4. ^{{cite book|authors= Great Britain Parliament. House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain, House of Commons|title=Parliamentary Papers|publisher= HMSO |year=1866|edition=Original from Harvard, Digitized 17 December 2007|series=Item notes: 1866|volume=:v.53|pages=69|chapter=enclosure 1. in No. 33 of the Chinchona plant into India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KxMTAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA69&lpg=RA2-PA69&dq=Hamilton+pykara+hut&source=bl&ots=pV2RdjiBPj&sig=YQG13f45PCsG_2QXBbuH-t3jUsQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result}}
5. ^Hamilton, p.xiii
6. ^{{cite book|last=Kennedy|first=Dane |title=The Magic Mountains Hill Stations and the British Raj|publisher=UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS|location=Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxford|year=1996|pages=50|url=http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft396nb1sf&chunk.id=0&toc.depth=1&toc.id=0&brand=ucpress&query=hamilton}}
7. ^¹{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/indiaofficeselectpd/PrintandDraw.aspx|title=Prints & drawings search results|work=Prints & drawings search: "Artist: Douglas Hamilton"|publisher=The British Library Board|pages= |accessdate=2009-03-03}}
8. ^Prints & drawings: WD1351
9. ^Prints & drawings: WD566
10. ^Prints & drawings: WD1350
11. ^Prints & drawings: WD567
12. ^Prints & drawings: WD568
13. ^{{cite book|last=Cleghorn|first=Hugh Francis Clarke |title=The Forests and Gardens of South India |publisher=W. H. Allen|location=London|year= 1861|edition=Original from the University of Michigan, Digitized 10 Feb 2006|oclc= 301345427|url=http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/301345427?page=frame&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D_ZbC9FY1JqIC%26checksum%3D374d90c92770a514a51708f07461f0b3&title=&linktype=digitalObject&detail=}}