A Cobbler
Itinerant workers, cobblers can repair all sorts of things. Note the sophisticated lithographic printing of this image, which some early Clifton & Co.
Labor
Sampling and Weighing Cotton
Mumbai grew from the 1860s through the 1890s largely because of the international cotton trade, which went from exporting cotton to textile manufacturing mills dotting the city.
A Potter
One of the most ancient of occupations, showing in the background what must be the larger human ecosystem that depends on the potter's labor.
A Peasant's Hut in Sind
A storybook shot by Fred Bremner, six people poised in performance, reminding us how much children and women's labor keeps the farm going.
A Coolie in the Stocks, Hongkong
Among the more interesting postcards are those showing Indians abroad, in this case serving as police officers in Hong Kong, then also a British possession.
Female Spinning, Jaipur
While this postcard published in Jaipur may have had nothing directly to do with the Swadeshi movement then taking off in Bengal, the charkha was am emblem of that cause for self-sufficiency and using indigenous materials and processes instead of
Punjabi's Weaving Mats
One of my favourite, and among the rarest of early Bremner postcards.
Dog Keeper
One of the many – to Indians, curious – new professions that sprouted in the growing city of Bombay at the turn of the century.
Sawing Timber
Timber was mostly used as a building material and for making furniture. Power tools and machines are available to make life easier for carpenters today, but a century ago, specialized workmen plying their trade were a popular postcard theme.
The Bhistie
A contemporary artist's rendering of one of the most popular postcard subjects, the all important "bhistie" who brought water in an animal skin to the thirsty.
