Lot 131
MR C.M. CALDECOTT, CIVIL SESSIONS JUDGE AND SON AND DAUGHTER OF SAME
INDIA, HUSHANGABAD, 1845
Auction: 10 June 2026 from 14:00 BST
Description
watercolour on paper with photographs, two folios from an album, the first showing the judge in profile seated at a table in contemplation, fountain pen and papers on the table, handwritten notes below the photograph and below right, the other of his son holding a book and his daughter behind
Dimensions
20.8cm x 33.2cm; 20.4cm x 33.3cm
Provenance
Formerly, the Stuart Cary Welch Collection (1928-2008); acquired, Sotheby's, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Part Two, 31 May 2011, Lot 130.
Footnote
Charles Marriott Caldecott (1807-1881) was a high-ranking British official who joined the East India Company's civil service in 1826. In March 1927 he married Margaret, only daughter of Mr Thomas Smith, Physician General, Bengal Establishment, by whom he had seven sons and five daughters. By 1845 he had risen through the ranks of magistrate and collector to be appointed the Civil and Sessions Judge in Bareilly, India. He wielded significant legal power over both criminal and civil matters in the North-Western Provinces. After retiring from India, he returned to England and continued his legal service as a Magistrate for Warwickshire, where he was remembered as a highly "able administrator" until his death in 1881. He is perhaps most famous today for his legacy: he was the father of Randolph Caldecott (1846-1881), the legendary Victorian artist for whom the prestigious Caldecott Medal in children’s literature is named. Another son Francis James Caldecott (b. 1842) was a leading cricketer in India.