Postmen of the British Empire: Mail Carrier and Guard, Oudeypore, India
Mail Carrier and Guard, Oudeypore, India.
Men
Dr. Keshav Baliran Hedgewar
A rare postcard of the man who founded the RSS, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an Indian nationalistic, right-wing Hindu organization that continues to play a prominent role in Indian politics, in 1925 in Nagpur following his disillusionment with
Cultivators
It is unclear whether "Haji Yusuf Haji Mohammed. Pictures, Post-cards & Cutlery Merchant.
Native Constable
The Indian Councils Act of 1861 was the foundation for the Indian Police Service, one whose fine exemplars was this Calcutta Policeman, which the emblem on his belt so proudly proclaims. His instrument of choice is the lathi, from the Bengali word
Postman
A portrait of the man who made the postcard revolution possible. While the original for this may have been a photograph of an actual postman, the broad strokes make it possible that a painted portrait was used as the source.
Sir J. N. Tata
The "father of Indian industry." Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904) was born in Gujarat and graduated from Elphinstone College in Mumbai in 1858. He founded and sold a successful trading firm, and then built a successful cotton mill that since
Tom, Tom Beaters
A beautiful studio portrait featuring the "thammattama," drums used in Buddhist rituals in Sri Lanka. They may be derived from a frame drum used in Tamil Nadu, and their sound is said to have irritated British colonists.
Barber at Work
A fine example of hand-tinting and documentation on a postcard. Note how the barber's entire work kit is proudly displayed at the bottom of the image, all of which fits into a leather satchel.
A Potter, Northern India
[Original caption] A Potter, Northern India. Fostered by "caste," the native craftsman remains, contentedly, throughout his life in that sphere of industry into which he was born.
Brahman
The Brahmin, as the art scholar Allan Life has noted, is reluctantly shuffling from tradition to modernity, from the temple behind him to the new city in front of him.
