An extract of our Crimea campaign prints currently available:

Charge of the Light Brigade 
Charlton J. 'Into the Valley of Death'
Thin Red Line 2
The Roll Call
Alma 1 2 3
The Roll Call - Lady Butler
"The Roll Call"
The Return from Inkerman - Lady Butler
Balaclava - Lady Butler 2 3
Walker E. Parade of the Scots Fusileer [sic] Guards  (See also under uniform studies)
Huard L.Charge of the Guards on the heights of Alma
Simpson W. Cavalry Affair of the Heights of Balganak

 

"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. 13 1/4 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

Another Copy Matted, Glazed, atural dark-wood with gilt lip frame 24 x 44" some surface damage. Ref. TC1(216)/DNN/v.anae>VLN

[THE THIN RED LINE]
ROBERT GIBB RSA. 1881  

Unlettered.  Original hand tinted photogravure by Goupil & Co. London. Published 1st. September 1883 by Archibald Ramsden, 
Printed La Chine colleé as issued. matted, Non-glare glazing, set into dark-stain wood
& gilt fame. 

 Image Size: 13 10/16 x 27 13/16" ( 34.5 x 70.6 cm.)    Frame: 25 1/2  x 39 1/2"
Ref.  CB6 (186)/ ANN/ a.anan > OLN  SOLD   PRICE CODE D
This is a darker impression than the previous edition Ref. 2085 shown above) with no title below plate. In capitals below image: painted by Robert Gibb ((bottom Left). Photogravure Goupil & Co ( Bottom Right)

Povenance:  Parker Gallery London 1973
Private Collection Mississauga  1983- 2020

Alma - Forward Forty-Second

ROBERT GIBB RSA. 1888

Depicts the 42nd. Highland regiment (The Black Watch) as they advanced up the slope and the river at Alma during the memorable battle, 20 Oct.1854, when the Russian forces under Menshikov were defeated by combined British, French & Turkish forces.

Again inspired by Alexander Kinglake's account in his book The Invasion of the Crimea and yet another of General Sir Colin Campbell memorable battle utterances 'Forward Forty-Second' that so inspired the Highlanders to perform heroic deeds against overwhelming odds. He is shown here on horseback, along with Lt.Col.Sir Duncan Cameron.

Further details for Gibb's famous painting were provided by Sir Peter Halkett, who carried the Queens colours on the day and may also be seen in this image.

Published as a supplement to Montreal's Family Herald & Weekly Star, Printed by Black & White after the painting by Robert Gibb (1845 - 1932) a Scottish painter of romantic, historical & military subjects portraying Scottish regiments.

In 1909 Gibb was appointed His Majesty's Painter and Limner for Scotland, he portrayed the pride of Scotland in many forms through his paintings, but it is his heroic portrayals of Scottish military heroism that immortalised him.

Robert Gibb   Alma 'Forward 42nd.' Images

 

	Chromolithograph. (Ca 1891) Mounted, Approx 26 1/2 x 35 1/2" Ref. LRA.1130/RVN/s.annr> V0L   Price Code: D   SOLD
	Another Copy with original postal tube Ref. RH9/DAL/s.andl >LAL  size: 17 2/8 x 26 1/2" including letters   Price Code C  SOLD
	Scarce, Proof before letters Signed Robert Gibb in graphite below image (Bottom Right) with Remarque. 14 Feb 1891  18 1/4 x 31" (46.4 x 78.7cm.) Frame 29 1/2 x 41 1/4" Ref.CB4(186)/LNN/a.anan DAOL Price Code E

 

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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'.

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.

 

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

"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

Lady Butler Crimea Images:

 

	DESCRIPTION
	The Roll Call CALLING THE ROLL AFTER AN ENGAGEMENT, CRIMEA Elizabeth Thompson [Lady Butler] RI 1885-1895 Fine deluxe mixed media engraving, signed by both artist and engraver of which there were only 200 copies issued. 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. 15 x 29 3/4" excluding signatures. (Ref. RI.272 /ALN/and>AANN)   PRICE CODE  F  SOLD
	"The Roll Call" Crimea 1854-5 after the original painting by Lady Butler By permission of Fine Art Society London.ca.1895 B/W gravure. 12 1/2 x 25 1/8" excluding letters. Ref. LRA1121 /LN/v.annr>ELN) Anotheer Copy reduced Size 7 3/4 x 15 5/8" (19.7 x 39.7 cm.) exclucing letters Ref. TMcC1/DNN/ dn.andl> AVL PRICE CODE  F SOLD

	DESCRIPTION
	The Return from Inkerman THE SOLDIERS BATTLE Elizabeth Thompson [Lady Butler] RI Sunday November 5th 1854 after the original painting by Lady Butler. "It was a glorious day for the British army." (Extract from Lord Raglans dispatch.) [1877 ca.1900)]. Photogravure Engraving. Published Fine Art Society London. 15 3/4 x 24 15/16" including letters. (Ref.LRA1030 /RNN/dov>G0L)   PRICE CODE E SOLD
	Balaclava-The Return 25th. Oct. 1854 Elizabeth Thompson [Lady Butler] RI [1876 (ca.1885)] THAT GLORIOUS BLUNDER OF WHICH ENGLISHMEN ARE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD Yorkshire Post 10/11/1876 Photogravure after the engraving by F. Stacpoole. Published Fine Art Society ca. 1885. 10 1/2" x 20" (Ref.LRA1126 /DLN/v. annr>GLN) SOLD   PRICE CODE  C ANOTHER COPY

 

RETURN TO MILITARY CATALOGUE

	DESCRIPTION
Click here for enlargment & full description	Balaclava 25th. Oct. 1854 Elizabeth Thompson [Lady Butler] RI [1876 (1880)] Original Hand tinted mixed media engraving by F. Stacpoole Published Fine Art Society 25th. July 1880. 20 " x 37 3/4 " Ref. VF1 /OLN/ r. andd > AOOL    SOLD                 PRICE CODE  G