A Fruit Seller, Madras
A very finely hand-tinted postcard, with the indigo closely fitting the cloth, one arm balancing a basket of fruit on the seller's head, the other reaching out to the viewer with a bright red sample.
Chennai
Nungumbakum Bridge
[Original caption] Numgumbakum Bridge.
A Group of Schoolgirls
A wonderfully hand-tinted postcard by Spencer & Co., with its signature red used with great balance across the girl's clothing. The jewelry makes one wonder whether some of them are really school girls.
Postmarked Kandy, Sri Lanka, 2/11/1907 and sent
Madras Girl with fruit
The successful colorization of what was originally a black and white photograph is exemplary.
Palms, Chepauk, Madras
A moody image in sepia of palm trees in the Chepauk district of Chennai.
[Verso] “Madras. 27.12.13. On the run again this time Madras Bombay Karachi Lahore Calcutta Rangoon.
A Jutka, Madras
Hobson Jobson defines the "jutka" in this finely coloured postcard with condescending tone "s. From Dak. -- Hind. jhaṭkā, 'quick.' The native cab of Madras, and of Mofussil towns in that Presidency; a conveyance only to be characterised by the
A Water Carrier, Madras
Today goatskins, pigskins and earthen pitchers have given way to plastic jars and bottles and huge, lumbering dripping water tankers that supplement inadequate piped water supplies in towns and cities throughout South Asia.
The Coolest Place in the House.
A postcard that sums up the fantasy of colonial life for Europeans. The dog resting by the tub is to Indians most unhygienic, but to Europeans the ultimate Raj bathroom accessory.
Government House, Madras
Combridge & Co. were among the earliest publishers of India postcards, a number of which they printed as cyanotypes, a blueish monochrome print popular around the turn of the century. This building still exists, but is now the Madras Club.
Moore Market, Madras
A daub of red anchors the eye in this fine composition. Moore Market was opened in 1900, and destroyed by a mysterious fire in 1985, after which the land was repurposed for the Chennai Suburban Railway station.
