Frederick Fiebig
1851
St John's Cathedral, Calcutta

Photograph, hand-coloured
British Library
Shelfmark: Photo 247/2(4), Item number: 24724
 
A hand-coloured print of St. John's Church, Calcutta, from the Fiebig Collection: Views of Calcutta and Surrounding Districts, taken by Frederick Fiebig in 1851. St John's Church modelled on St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, was established in 1787. The constructing engineers wanted the spire to be higher, but couldn't due to the soggy sub-soil. Several distinguished people were buried in the old churchyard, including Job Charnock, who originally selected Calcutta as the site of the English Factory for the East India Company in 1690. The church also contained a painting of the Last Supper by Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), who is said to have given the disciples the faces of British personalities famous in Calcutta at that time.
 
LL/66370