Tanga Stand (Murree)
Before the advent of the motor car the tonga or open horse-drawn carriage was a popular mode of transporting humans and goods in the Indian subcontinent.
People
Basket Bazaar, Madras
The basket bazaar of Madras was renowned for its beautiful wicker work and offered many kinds of basket weavers a platform to show their craft and sell a wide variety of goods.
Bakshis Saheb
A very early postcard printed in India and signed by the Ravi Varma Press chief lithographer and also painter, Paul Gerhardt. The title "Bakshis[h] Saheb" refers to the call for alms made by beggars.
Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Also known as Lokmanya ("accepted by the people as their leader") Tilak, this Maharashtran was one of the first leaders of the Independence Movement, and someone who used the plague and other injustices of British rule to rally people around the cry
A Typical Maharajah
An early Tuck's painted postcard, and one of the earliest numbered series (2623) with an Indian theme. The theme suggests that the cards represents the Delhi Darbar of 1903 as other cards include the Viceregal Party.
The message on this card
Shoe Maker
This is a hand-painted postcard from around 1905, rather rare in India compared to, say, China where at the time numerous hand-painted postcards were being sent abroad.
Raja Sandow
P.K. Raja Sandow (1894/5-1943) was one of the most famous silent film actors of India, and later a producer and director as well. Born in Tamil Nadu, he was given the name "Sandow" after a well-known German body-builder of the time.
Chetty Rice Merchant and Money Lender. Ceylon
[Original caption] The Chettya are one of the trading castes of India whose mercantile activities take them far afield.
Types of Men (I)
This is actually a real photograph postcard of a water colour on paper by M.V. Dhurandhar, part of a series by the artist on the people of Bombay. The recent and first major book on him, M.V. Dhurandhar The Romantic Realist (DAG, 2018) has three of
Bombay Police
A rare lithograph from 1907 or beyond. Note the British policeman in side profile, the local constable saluting him. They are nearly the same height. The background reveals itself to be a cutout of the city, the policeman's terrain.
