Indian Dancing Girl
One of the more elaborately framed and coloured portraits of a nautch girl.
1910-1919
Miss Chabukswari of Delhi
Usually, dancing women were unnamed, even when they become famous (for example, Gohar Jan became a "Bombay beauty"). In this case however perhaps her name or fame justified a different approach, and it was better marketing by the unknown publisher to
Bearer
Although Hobson Jobson (1903, p. 77) defines Bearer as, besides a palanquin carrier, also as "b. (In the Bengal Presidency) a domestic servant who has charge of his master's clothes, household furniture, and (often) of his ready money.
Sudder Bazaar, Karachi
This most interesting thing in this composite street scene is the way it brings the many forces of colonialism into view. In the distant background is Karachi's mammoth St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The Jakku Temple, Simla
Edward Buck in Simla, Past and Present (1925) tells the story of Charles de Russet, son of a local French photographer and merchant. Charles dropped out of the nearby Bishop Cotton School at the age of seventeen.
Bengal Beauty
A classic late 19th century pose, with a three-legged Victorian table, books for the woman to rest her arm on, and painted studio backdrop.
A young Hindu married couple.
This card was made primarily for domestic audiences as the Hindi title, and secondary English title cleverly tucked into a corner vertically suggest. Note how the remnants of another postcard from a skewed cut is visible at the top.
Lahore. Char Boorji.
The Chaburji gateway is the entrance to a lost Mughal garden. Apparently built around the 1640s, its construction is linked to the Mughal Emperor Akbar's daughter, Zebunnissa Begum.
Safder Jang Tomb. Delhi.
The low angle of this splendid postcard of the mid-18th century tomb of Nawab Safderjung seems to widen at the bottom and reach towards the viewer. Note the two figures in white, almost invisible against the whitewash of the pedestal.
R.A.T.A.R.F.A. Meerutt
A particularly striking view of a colonial bungalow in northern India. Meerut was home to a major army garrison and cantonment during the Raj and in modern times. This card was in an embossed postcard frame. All attempts are decoding R.A.T.A.R.F.A.
