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"There is no retreat from here, men!
you must die where you stand."
...."Ay, Ay, Sir Colin, if needs be we'll do that."
General Sir Colin Campbell: THE THIN RED LINE
Thin Red Line
ROBERT GIBB RSA. 1881
The vibration of the thundering hooves of the Russian Cavalry
could be felt through the ground when the first Highland rank knelt
and discharged their first volly. At two hundred yards the second
volley of withering shot was loosed over the shoulders of the reloading
first rank, checking the Russian onslaught in its tracks.
Inspired by the Alexander Kinglake account of the action in his
book The Invasion of the Crimea read by Gibb whilst walking Haddon
Hall, in England's Peak district, Gibb depicted the scene transposed
to the rise in front of him in his mind's eye. The result was Gibb's
greatest painting, which he exhibited in the Royal Scottish Academy
in 1882. The Thin Red Line has been hailed as one of the finest
military paintings of the nineteenth century.
The original painting was bought by Archibald Ramsden who gave
permission for its reproduction first by Black and White and
shortly thereafter issued as asupplement to the family Herald & Weekly
Star, Montreal.
It is said the title originated with Sir William Howard Russell.
dispatch to theTimes 25 Oct.1854 "This thin red streak tipped
with a line of steel" He changed it slightly in is 1877 book
The British Expedition to the Crimea to read "They dashed
on towards that thin red line tipped with steel."
Colour lithograph (Ca. 1890) Approx. 131/4 X 26 1/2" excluding letters (33.5 X 67.2 cm.),
( Ref. LRA 2085/DLN/g.anne SOL ) PRICE CODE D SOLD Click Here for Pricing Details
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Walker E. after Thomas G.H. Parade of the Scots Fusileer [sic] Guards at Buckingham Palace (before her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Prince), on the morning of their departure for the seat of war March 2nd. 1854
Colour Aquatint, double matted, glazed, cherry wood frame SIZE 15 1/4 x 19 inc letters (38.7x 48.3 cm.) 23 x 27"
Ref. RY7 (179)/ALN/r.ando> LNN PRICE CODE C
Decorative and hard to find view of the parade of the Scots Fusilier Guards, prior to their departure for the Crimean War.
First established in 1805, the Scots Fusilier Guards were deployed in the Napoleonic Wars and later in the Crimean War.
In 1854, the Crimean War began, which pitted the United Kingdom, France and the Ottoman Empire against the Russian Empire. The 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards Fusiliers were dispatched as part of the Guards Brigade to the East, being deployed to Malta, Bulgaria and Turkey, before, in September, the British finally landed in the Crimea, at a place called Calamity Bay.
The British and their French allies then began the advance on Sevastopol, a Russian naval base, but was blocked at the River Alma by Russian forces. And here came the Battalion's first engagement at the Battle of Alma, an action that saw chaotic and heavy hand-to-hand combat between the British and Russians. The road to Sevastopol runs through a gap between two hills, one to the east, known as Kourgane Hill and the other to the west, known as Telegraph Hill. On Kourgane Hill there consisted two earthworks, one known as the 'Great Redoubt' on the western side of the hill, while the other was on the eastern side, known as the 'Lesser Redoubt'.
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The Attack of the heights above Alma
THE GRAND CHARGE OF THE GUARDS ON THE HEIGHTS OF ALMA
Sept. 20th. 1854
L. Huard (after a sketch taken on the spot by a English Officer)
Original Hand tinted stone Lithograph. Published by E. Gambart & Co, London. Nov. 1st. 1854.
French Lines and wash panel mat , non-glare glazing, set into an ornate gilt-wood and gesso frame.
Size: 15 3/16 x 19 7/8 " including letters (38.6 x 50.5 cm.) Frame 25 x 30"
Ref. CB5 (186)/ ANN/ a.anan > GLN PRICE CODE C
From the banks of the Alma river a mounted Lord Raglan is captioned ordering Capt. Maude to cross the Alma with his battery and direct its fire on the squares of the Russian Infantry. As is the The Duke of Cumberland.
The Grenadiers formed in line, before leaving the river and advanced up the hill firing two volleys at the Russian infantry on the hillside, causing them to retreat.
At the top of the hill, the 7th Royal Fusiliers, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Lacey Yea, the Scots Fusilier Guards in the centre of Bentinck’s brigade was largely swept back down the hill to the river by the flood of men.
The other two Guards battalions, the Grenadiers and the Coldstream, continued on up the hill and retook the Russian Battery. The Scots Fusilier Guards crossed the River Alma slightly before the Grenadier and the Coldstream Guards but, having had their ranks disordered by men of the Light Division retreating through them, were thrown back in turn from the Great Redoubt. The situation was retrieved by the approach of the Grenadiers and Coldstreams, who dispersed the Russians with accurate Minié fire.
The battle gave rise to controversy over the conduct of the Scots Fusilier Guards. It is reported that the Grenadiers and the Coldstream called out “What’s happened to the Queen’s favourites now?” a reference to the regiment’s standing with Queen Victoria. Several of the newly instituted Victoria Crosses were awarded for conduct at the Battle of the Alma.
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THE CAVALRY AFFAIR OF THE HEIGHTS OF BULGANAK - THE FIRST GUN
19th. SEPT 1854
William Simpson 1823-1899
Original Hand tinted stone Lithograph. matted, non glare-glazing, Black & gilt-wood frame.
Lithographed by Needham of Day & Sons after W. Simpson. Published by Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Co. London Jan 15th. 1855 Plate II of Colnaghi's Authentic Collection. Bottom Left. Déposé Goupil et Cle. Leipzig Otto Weigel.
12 3/8 x 15 3/8" (31.4 x 39.1 cm.) including letters. Frame 18 x 20 1/4"
Ref. CB7 (186)/VL/ a.anan >AVL PRICE CODE B
Published in The seat of war in the East : Dedicated by permission to Her most gracious Majesty the Queen / William Simpson. First series. London : Published by Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Co., publishers to Her Majesty, 13 & 14 Pall Mall East ; Paris : Goupil & Cie., 1855, [plate 2].
Depicted is the cavalry skirmish along the heights of the Bulganak (Baljanik) river was one of the first actions to be fought by the Allies after their landing at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea on 14 September 1854. Print shows expansive view of the countryside, the Russian cavalry and artillery in the distance, Russian guns opening fire on British troops as they draw up into formation.
Foreground left 18th Hussars behind 17th. Lancers, (Middle) Col. Maude’s and another detachment of the Royal Artillery (right)
Middle ground the divisions of the British Dragoons and Hussars advance up the hill toward the Russian Cavalry and guns in the Background.
The ‘Affair’ resulted in 5 British wounded & three horses killed, and on the Russian side, 12 killed and 23 wounded.
William Simpson (1823-99) was a Scottish painter who became noted for his depictions of the Crimean War (1853-6). For many, Simpson would become best known as the world's first war artist. The Seat of the War in the East – became two large portfolios that contained over eighty lithographs.
Povenance: Parker Gallery London 1974
Private collection Mississauga 1984- 2020
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"The look on his face from which the sternness of command
had faded, giving place to the grief with which he noted the ravage
of battle in his ranks."
The Roll Call
1874
"I never painted for the glory of war, but
to portray its pathos and heroism."
- Lady Butler, Elizabeth Southerden (neé Thompson) RI. 1846 -1923.
The Roll Call is presented here, we are pleased to offer a rather
fine collection of original antique prints after paintings by Lady
Butler, please contact us for more
more information.
Lady Butler, Elizabeth Southerden (neé Thompson) 1846 -1933. One
of Britain's pre-eminent painters of Heroic battle scenes and particularly
noted for her accurate depiction of regimental dress and horses.
In
1874, she exhibited the painting "THE ROLL CALL" or
to give it its full title "CALLING THE ROLL AFTER
AN ENGAGEMENT, CRIMEA" at the Royal
Academy in London where it caused a
sensation, not just because it had been painted by a woman (a
rarity for publicly acclaimed works at the time) but the more so,
because it took a different approach to the previous format of
heroic painting. In her own words "I never painted for the
glory of war, but to portray its pathos and heroism." Her
masterpiece recorded the pain, shock and suffering of war; the
aftermath and reality of hand to hand combat during the war in
the Crimea.
Crowds flocked to see the painting, so much so, that it was sent
on tour around the country, some 20,000 viewing it in three days
in Liverpool alone! Art connoisseurs vied with each other to purchase
the work , when it became known that Her Majesty
Queen Victoria wished to acquire the painting however, the other bidders agreed
to withdraw and Charles Galloway, the Manchester industrialist,
who had commissioned the work, ceded it to the crown. The artist
receiving £120 for her masterpiece.
Her Majesty did give permission for the work to be reproduced,
and it is the fine deluxe mixed media engraving signed by both
artist and engraver of which there were only 200
copies issued,
(at a published price of 4 gns, 1882), that we are pleased to
offer to discerning collectors of militaria.
Although an archetypal picture showing the condition of soldiers
in the aftermath of battle. Depicted is a mustering of part of
the Guards Brigade in the cold grey light after an engagement during
the Crimean War which many assume to be the Battle
of Inkerman.
The 3rd battalion of Grenadier Guards defended a two-gun Sandbag
Battery against heavy odds amid fierce hand to hand fighting. The
battalion lost 104 officers & men with another 103 wounded. Captain George Higginson (the mounted officer) recalled that barely
200 men responded at roll call.
"The look on his face from which the sternness of command
had faded, giving place to the grief with which he noted the ravage
of battle in his ranks." Meynell, The Art Journal 1898.
In 1999 Her Majesty the Queen gave her permission for the original
painting to be briefly exhibited at the National
Gallery of Canada.
Mixed Media Engraving. Scarce, Artists Proof Before Letters.
Signed Elizabeth Butler, Artist; & W.J.
Hulland, Engraver
(below plate).
Published by The Fine Art Society London. 1 Nov.
1882 with authenticating seal of Printsellers Association London.
Matted.
15 x 29 3/4" excluding
signatures (Ref. RI.272 /ALN/and>AANN)
PRICE CODE F SOLD Click Here for Pricing Details
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