Pushkar, India, with a parade of figures, elephants and horses in the foreground

Born in India in 1781, Charles D'Oyly was educated in England, returning to Calcutta aged 16, where he took up the position of Assistant to the Registrar of the Court of Appeal. He remained in India for the next forty years, holding the posts of Government and City Collector of Customs in Calcutta (1818), Opium Agent at Bihar (1821) and Senior Member of the Board of Customs, Salt, Opium and of the Marine (1833), before leaving for Europe in 1838 due failing health. Given the undemanding nature of his work, D'Oyly was able to devote a great deal of time to his art and in 1827 he established one of the earliest lithographic presses in India.
Pushkar is one of the oldest cities in India and also one of the five sacred dhams (Hindu pilgrim sites).