An album of Company school paintings of Mughal monuments. North India: early 19th century, from watermark evidence bound circa 1830. Period binding of straight-grain red morocco, the covers gilt with a simple rectilinear design of strapwork and scrolls, the spine gilt, turn-ins with three gilt rules; all edges gilt. The album 7 1/2 x 9 3/8 inches (18.75 x 24 cm) containing mounts of sepia wove paper (these leaves with occasional dated watermarks of 1829, no maker indicated), with 21 watercolor drawings (one gilt-heightened) inlaid to the mounts, each surrounded by a ruled black-ink frame; most measure 4 x 6 3/4 inches (or slightly less), the versos neatly titled in a tiny Arabic script and somewhat less neatly in a Western hand of the period, indicating the subjects. The watermarks on the drawings (where present) vary; most are on Whatman paper (one bears a fragmentary date of 1825), but we note several sheets with other watermarks, including what appears to be a partial watermark lettered in part "Green" (i.e., presumably of Hayle Mill manufacture). The binding is somewhat worn, with minor staining, but is structurally sound and still attractive; the drawings are generally clean, with some minimal visibility of the ink identifications on the verso.

Architectural drawings produced by Indian artists became available in the early nineteenth century, following the fall of Delhi and Agra in 1803, and the final defeat of the Maratha Empire in 1819, which events widely opened the Indian subcontinent to European trade. The workshops that produced these drawings (usually referred to collectively as "Company school" or "Company style," as the works were largely done for patrons employed by the East India Company) catered to Europeans visiting India who were fascinated by the monuments of the Mughal era. Substantial interest in Indian culture, notably that of the Mughal period, was generated by the monumental works on the subject illustrated by Thomas and William Daniell, William Hodges, and others that were published in the late 18th century. Typically, Company school drawings were small (for ease of transport) and were intended to be bound by the purchaser upon their return to England, as was undoubtedly the case here. They are typically highly detailed, combining architectural accuracy with aesthetic appeal.

The drawings are notated in English as follows (the Arabic annotations are slightly more extensive):

1. South face of Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra.
2. Gateway to the monument of Selim Chisti at Fatehpur, Sikri.
3. Tomb of Selim Chisti at Fatehpur, Sikri.
4. Interior view of Akbar's Tomb.
5. Tomb of Abdul Karim at Agra.
6. Tomb of Hummainon (i.e. Humayun).
7. The Taj at Agra.
8. Tomb of Akbar at Sikandra.
9. Southern entrance to the garden in which is Akbar's tomb.
10. The fort of Agra.
11. The inside of the dome of the Taj.
12. Tomb of the Empress in the Taj.
13. Tomb of the Emperor Shah Jehan.
14. Mosaic on the Empress's tomb in the Taj.
15. Mosaic on the tomb of Shah Jehan at Agra.
16. Mosaic on the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal in the Taj.
17. Flowers sculptured in marble at the Taj.
18. Tomb stone [sic] over Akbar.
19. The slab on the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal in the Taj.
20. The Taj.
21. [A]Ram Bagh at Agra.