An Indian Actress
A startling image of an Indian actress, carrying a bow in one hand, perhaps from the play she is acting in. But is it a she?
Mumbai Bombay
Music
[Verso, handwritten] "Oct. 24, 1915. My dear Annie, Do you think you could play this instrument? The music is very weird but I suppose they think it is nice. I don't!
A Cobbler
An early postcard that blends photography, the collotype printing process and colorization to produce what the Germans called a "Lichtdruck" or "light print" that resembles a painting.
Smoking Hookah
A distinctly colored postcard, with the pinkish mud offsetting the green grass and white garb of the smoker. Note the little boy and half-hidden woman watching from the hut.
A Bania Lady
A beautiful example of colorization, with the rich brown of wood and skin set off against the black and white original studio backdrop. On the back, one owner has pencilled in "Hindu Bourgeois."
Gosavi (Ascetic)
A very early postcard printed in India. Gosavi is a Marathi word that refers to someone who has renounced worldly pleasures and wears garments of the "brick-dust" color shown here.
A Money Lender
"The stranger unacquainted with conditions in India, and visiting Bombay for the first time, cannot fail to be impressed by an inspection of the huge assortment of books which Messrs D B Taraporevala, Sons and Co find it necessary to keep in hand to
A Parsee Lady
Parsi women were a popular subject—progressive women with traditional virtues, counterpoints to the nautch girl. This Parsi Lady is holding what could be a postcard.
Shakuntala Patra-Lekhana
[Original caption] Shakuntala writing a love letter. Shakuntala while she was dwelling in a forest, near the river. Malini writes a letter on a lotus leaf to Deshyanta feeling doubtful if he loved her. [end]
From one of the best known paintings by
Snake Charmer
Snake charmers are one of the most common early Indian postcard subjects, and this must be one of the earliest and most beautiful such views. Note the clever use of the palm backdrop to create the illusion of depth, and the rich use of red.
