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VIEWS FROM A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
#20 - CALCUTTA, HINDOOSTAN
Size: 3" x 5"
Copyrighted: 1891
Lithographer: Joseph P. Knapp
  
Illustrations: A "Danseuse"; Cane; Calcutta from the Esplanade;
Calcutta and River H'ugl'i; A Merchant
| Reverse - Text |
Left section:
GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
Right section: |
| CALCUTTA, INDIA. |
| The first definite
settlement of Calcutta dates from
1686. It lies about 80 miles from
the seaboard, on the east bank of
the Húgli river. Some parts of
it lie below watermark, making
its drainage extremely difficult.
The vast plain, (maidán,) with
its gardens and promenades, the
evening resort of the fashion of
Calcutta, was formerly a swamp
during three months of the year,
and during seventy years the
mortality from malaria was so
great as to make the place known
by mariners as Golgotha--the
place of a skull. |
| Modern
Calcutta dates from 1757. A new
fort was then built, costing two
millions sterling. It was not
finished until 1773, at which
time the salubrious park--the
maidán--was laid out. The city
afterwards became the seat of
both the Supreme and the Local
Government, each with an
independent set of offices. |
| Government
House, the official residence of
the Viceroy, is a magnificent
pile of buildings, north of the
fort and the maidán, erected by
Lord Wellesley in 1804. |
| Science
and modern engineering have at
length rendered Calcutta the
healthiest city in the East, more
so, indeed, than some of the
great European towns. |
| An
important floating bridge was
built across the Húgli between
the years 1871 and 1874,
supplying a permanent connection
between Calcutta and the railway
terminus on the Howrah side of
the river. It is constructed on
pontoons, and provides a
continuous roadway for
foot-passengers and vehicles. |
| Prior
to 1853, nothing had been done to
save the River Húgli from the
deterioration common to all
deltaic streams, but since that
time no effort has been spared to
remove its obstructions.
Observations on the condition of
the river are constantly taken
and results recorded. By these
means the port of Calcutta is
kept open for ships of the
largest tonnage. |
| Population 1881, 684,658. |
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