Lascars were sailors, mostly from the subcontinent, serving on European ships that sailed the world and who spoke their own multinational tongue, "Lascari." Throughout the 16th through 19th centuries many landed in Britain and America, with a few
Another Dhurandhar postcard masterpiece, with the pale green background and statue of Lord Mahavir, the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion setting off the living priest in the foreground.
An apparently hand-stenciled color card likely made from a photograph at the Ravi Varma Press facilities in Karla, outside Mumbai. Note how carefully everyone, especially the two dancers, are holding their pose in this vibrant frozen moment.
One of Tuck's very first Kolkata postcards, before they put explanatory captions on the back.
Chitpur (Chitpore) owes its name to goddess Chiteswari whose temple was destroyed during the earthquake of 1737. Chitpur road, one of Kolkata's oldest roads
[Original caption] City Gate. Jeypore , the capital of the protected native state of the same name in Rajputana, is a walled city, entered by a picturesque gateway.
Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861-1946) was an Indian politician, notable for his role in the freedom struggle and his efforts to eliminate the caste system, as well as co-founding Banaras Hindu University in 1916. This was part of a series by Karachi-based
Another painted postcard by the Anglo-Indian artist Frank Clinger Scallan (1870-1950) whose Kolkata series of nearly a dozen postcards reflects the pleasures of life in what was British India's largest metropolis.
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.
The claim that this is a much extolled Kashmiri beauty is probably true, as this particular woman seems to appear on other postcards from the period. She is wearing the traditional Kashmiri dress, the pheran, and could be wearing a watch on her left
Postcards actually developed in part from advertising cards.
