Labor

Hindoo Ayahs

Hindoo Ayahs

An early court-sized card made from an albumen photograph with the studio inscribed in the glass negative at the bottom.

Hobson-Jobson defines "AYAH, s. A native lady's-maid or nurse-maid.

Road Rolling

Road Rolling

Labor-intensive road rolling helped to create smoother and less permeable roads. The early history of road rolling in Europe can be traced to the 18th century when roads became militarily important.

The Harvest

The Harvest

One of those postcards which remind you what an exceptional artist M.V. Dhurandhar was. In the midst of a harvest, with giant sheaves of the crop as if pulled apart like curtains, stands a woman in red with sickle in hand.

Water bearer. Bombay.

Water bearer. Bombay.

A very early India-printed postcard signed by the chief lithographer at the Ravi Varma Press, Paul Gerhardt. Gerhardt was probably aware of Ravi Varma's prize-winning painting that year, Water Bearer, and we know from Raja Varma's diaries - the great

The "Dhoby"

The "Dhoby"

Hobson Jobson (1903) the great dictionary of Indian words in English, defines "Dhoby, Dobie s. A washerman; H. dhobi [from dhona, Skt. [Sanskrit] dhav, 'to wash.'] In colloquial Anglo-Indian use all over India. A common H. [Hindustani] proverb runs:

Dhobi (Washerman)

Dhobi (Washerman)

Another evocative card by M.V. Dhurandhar injects personality into the roving washerman. In the background is an edifice of the "new" Bombay while in the foreground we see the age-old profession of washermen cleaning the resident's laundry.

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