Francis Hamilton's Gangetic Fishes in Colour

Description:

A new edition of the 1822 monograph, with reproductions of unpublished coloured illustrations.

Francis Hamilton (formerly Buchanan) was an eminent naturalist, equally skilled in botany and zoology, especially ichthyology. He was a surgeon with the Honourable East India Company between 1794 and 1816 and spent 18 years in India, also travelling to Burma and Nepal. He is famous among ichthyologists for his monograph on Gangetic fishes, which was published in 1822 covering 272 species of freshwater and brackish water fishes and the original coloured drawings made by the Indian artist Haludar under Hamilton’s supervision. Hamilton drew up species descriptions and had the fishes drawn while they were still alive, so that his descriptions of the different species and their beautiful coloured illustrations are unusually detailed and accurate. Many were omitted from the book and those that were included were only published in black and white. Francis Hamilton-Buchanan’s ‘Gangetic Fishes’ when published was a milestone in Asian natural history for its comprehensive treatment of the subject and the revolutionary accuracy of its fine illustrations. However,

the wonderfully accurate coloured drawings made from freshly caught fish specimens, by native artists under Hamilton Buchanan’s supervision were only published in black and white. This shortcoming in the original publication has been the source of conjecture and misunderstanding over the identity of some of the fishes described in the book ever since. The present volume, using sets of original coloured drawings and field notes from several sources presents for the first time a full set of accurate colour reproductions with an in-depth commentary providing valuable further information. It will be an invaluable reference for scholars, aquarists, and art historians as well as a showcase of the brilliant work the artists produced under Hamilton-Buchanan’s direction.