Greetings From Calcutta
A very early postcard from one of Kolkata's largest retailers. Postmarked Dec. 2, 1898 and addressed to Master Geoffrey Corbett, Whiltey, Yorks., England: "To my godson & all his relations G.C. [sp?]."
Postcard
The Mall with Church (Murree)
The Holy Trinity Church on the Mall was consecrated in May of 1857, just as the "Mutiny" or first War of Independence against British rule began.
Club Road Avenue, Fort, Belgaum
A collotype which evokes the apparent tranquility of lost time; note at least 8 chaukidars and malis members dotting the sides of the road.
Babu Badridas' Jain Temple, Calcutta
One of the most popular early views of Kolkata, this Jain is dedicated to Sitalnathji, the 10th of the 24 Jain tirthankaras.
Albert Hall, Side View, Jaipur
"From its opening day," writes Thomas R. Metcalf in An Imperial Vision Indian Architecture and the British Raj, "the building was praised as a 'successful adaptation of the Indo-Saracenic style to a modern public building. For the Journal of Indian
Shri Shiv Panchaitan
A real-photo postcard, made from a painting and printed in Germany, then exquisitely hand-tinted in India.
Alaudeen Gate, Delhi.
The Alauddin Gate of Delhi is known as Alai Darwaza
[Original caption] Built by Alaudin Khilji in 1310 A.D. [end]
Alai Darwaza is said to be among the first buildings in India to be based on Central Asian and Muslim design principles.
The Fruit Stall
[Verso] "Dear Mabel I wrote you a letter and I didn't know Moands [sp?] address properly I hope you received it alright. Edgar"
The Taj, Agra
Probably the earliest Tuck's postcard of the Taj Mahal, from a Bourne & Shepherd photograph, before writing was allowed on the back.
Ahmed din Buildings Rawalpindi
A real-photo postcard printed the wrong way around. By the late teens it was becoming more common for publishers to print postcards on photographic paper the size and with the backing of postcards; this was possibly commissioned by Ahmed Din.
