Wharf, Karachi
Johnny Stores - run by a man named Janki Das - was one of Karachi's most prominent postcard publishers from the 1920s through 1940s.
B & W
Famine Group Victims [handwritten]
![Famine Group Victims [handwritten]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/famine-victims_0.jpg?itok=gLGtfFl0 "Famine Group Victims [handwritten]")
Major Indian famines were caused by droughts and poor food distribution policies. Though uneven rainfall was a major cause of Indian famines in the 19th century, faulty administrative and economic policies were equally responsible.
River Ravi & Bridges of Boats, Lahore
Boat bridges were common in the 19th century; not only the Ravi at Lahore, but the Hooghly in Kolkata, the Indus at Attock were all traversed by ancient boat bridges that rose or were washed away by floods, but could easily be managed and repaired.
A Mohamedan Fakir
John Campbell Oman (1841-1911), author of The Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India (1903) describes the incident that made him take it upon himself to write this encyclopedic work towards the end of his life.
Site of Action of 24-4-08 against Mohmands
There are a limited set of Raj postcards showing battlefields, even after the fact.
Greetings from Jubbulpore
An understated, nicely designed "Greetings from" postcard from the cantonment in Jubbulpur in the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The insignia suggests it was published for or celebrated the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) then based here.
A Tamil Girl, Ceylon
One of my favourite postcards by the great Colombo publisher Plate & Co., simply because the girl's stare or startled expression is so memorable. Although I used the color version in the book, this seems just as gripping. What is she looking at?
Veddahs. Aborigines of Ceylon
The original inhabitants of Ceylonese island, now called Sri Lanka, as far as we know were Veddas.
Tamil Theatrical Company, Ceylon
This remarkable postcard shows Shankardas Swamigal's Tamil drama group on a visit to Ceylon [Sri Lanka] in 1890, although the postcard is from about 15 years later.
Golden Temple, Umritsar
This postcard is probably among the earliest of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, given the undivided back, and Clifton's role as one of the earliest all-India postcard publishers. It is probably from a 19th century albumen print.
This card was sent
