The Cattle Show at Pushkar, Ajmer
An embossed frame sets off a rare early postcard of what is presumably the famous Pushkar fair, with the colonial perspective of a onetime owner scrawled across the top: "Does not look much like our Cattle Shows."
B & W
Hill Milk Women
This postcard is likely based on a portrait by Johnston & Hoffmann of 22 Chowringhee [also Chourangi] Road, Kolkata, one of the most storied photographic firms in British India.
A Caravan on its Way to Peshawar
[Original] A Caravan on Its Way to Peshawar from Afghanistan in the Caravan Serai Landikotal N.W.F.P. [end]
Postcards like this illustrate how enormous the trade through the Khyber Pass once was. The Peshawar District Gazetteer 1897-98 put the value
Chandni Chawk Street, Delhi (India)
[Original caption on back] This famous street was built by Jahanara Begum daughter of Emperor Shah Jehan. It extends 1520 yards in length from Delhi Fort to Fatehpuri Mosque, and is 40 yards [wide].
Parsi Girl
A striking image of a small Parsi girl sitting on a table with her feet on a chair, the "de [of] Bombay" added by the French sender in 1911.
A Group of 3 Bhootia Women
Bhutias are a Sikkimese people of Tibetan ancestry, photographed here most likely in Johnston & Hoffman's Darjeeling studio – compare to A Group of 3 Nepaulese which seems to have the same backdrop.
Street Scene, Madras
Note the diagonal leading the eye into a rich scene, the figures in the corners of the frame, the tethered cow on the left, the pots in the coals, the vibrancy of this human space under a hoisted banner.
(Late) Sukhdeo
Sukhdeo (Sukhdev) was born as the son of Ram Lal in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan).
Sukhdev (1907 - 1931) was a very popular revolutionary in India's freedom struggle.
Commercial Street, Bangalore
A popular image of Commercial Street in Bangalore by one of its most popular studios run by M. C. H. Doveton. Note that the poster on the left has the word "War" readable which suggests it is from around the first World War I period.
Frere Hall, Karachi
A fine example of the performative act that sending a postcard was when they first became popular. The nicely positioned and cancelled stamp, the sender's signature, "Doux Baisers" ("Sweet Kisses"), sent to his wife in France.
