First Afghan War, contemporary plans of the storming of Ghuznee and Khelat, 1839

A large folio sheet of very stout paper, 23½ x 16½ ins, with two finely engraved and hand coloured plans of actions during the First Afghan War. The upper plan is titled Sketch of the FORTRESS OF GHUZNEE, Taken by Storm on the 23rd July, 1839 and the lower one KHELAT Stormed by a Detachment of the Army of the Indus under Major General Wiltshire K.C.B. November 13th 1839. Each of the plans includes explanatory notes and the Ghuznee one has quite detailed indications of the troops involved, The Khelat plan idenifies the author: From a Plan by Lieutt F. Wemyss, Bombay Engineeers. The page is very clean but has minor edge chips and tears and the bottom edge has an old blind library stamp of the Royal British service Institution. There is an old damp stain across the lower right corner but its effect just clips the corner of the decorative lines around the Khelat plan. The size means that this will be best posted lightly rolled in a stout cardboard tube.    jul11/4

These actions in Afghanistan very heavily involved the Bombay Army whose participation is still recorded with honour in the Afghan Church on the Colaba Peninsula there.