The Officers' Portfolio of the Striking Reminiscences of the War, from drawings, photographs, and notes, taken on the spot, made into complete pictures by eminent artists

Book Description

[London]: Dickinson Brothers, [circa 1856]. Folio. (26 x 18 1/8 inches). Original light grey paper upper wrapper mounted on thin card as title-page with title (as above) printed in letterpress. 18 (of 24) hand-coloured lithographed plates, each mounted on card in imitation of a watercolour (as issued,) with manuscript captions in ink in a single hand on the mount below each image. Unbound as issued in original dark green half morocco, upper cover with blocked design in gilt of four soldiers, a flag, various 'trophies' of war and the word 'Sebastopol', cloth ties. An exceptionally rare work: no copies, complete or otherwise, are listed as having sold at auction in the past thirty years We have only ever seen one other copy of this work, which is now in the Bobins collection, it is not in Abbey or Blackmer, and only two (or three) copies are listed by OCLC (the second and third copies are both at Dartmouth College, RI, and may represent duplicated entries for a single copy.) This fine series of views and scenes from the Crimean War are presented as if they were mounted watercolours, with manuscript titles beneath each image. This was generally only done for the most expensive publications (the de luxe issue of David Roberts' Holy Land for example,) and may be taken as in indication of the exclusive nature of this important record. The excellent plates are unsigned, but some are evidently drawn up from sketches made on the spot, whilst others were worked up from photographs - an important early example of this technique. The views are titled as follows: Valley of Inkermann; Entrance to Balaklava; Sebastopol from the Rear of the Great Redan; Trektir Bridge after the Battle of the Tcheraya; The Aqueduct; Major General Sir Arthur Torrens at Inkermann; The Chalakhoff; Rocks near Balaklava; Arrival of French Troops at Balaklava; Rifle Party Skirmishing; Removing the Wounded from the Great Redan; Sebastopol from the Sea; The Hurricane; Sebastopol from the Plateau; Troops in Review in the Rear of 21 Gun Battery; Balaklava; Repulse of the French from the Little Redan; Salient of the Redan - Midnight. Bobins Exotic and Beautiful I.186 (24 plates); OCLC 12791901 (1 copy, 23 plates); 12791944 (2 copies, 23 plates)

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