Marine Drive, Bombay
A nice view that guides the eye up the snaked drive.
This card was postmarked from Bombay on Dec. 11, 1953.
Mumbai Bombay
Native Wrestlers
Curiously this view was not one of the more popular Clifton & Co. postcards, one of the first publishers in the city, despite its many scenes and informational value. From the building columns and the firm's location it is likely to be from Bombay.
View of Benares
An early multi-coloured view of Varanasi.
Cotton Pickers
Many early Bombay postcards focused on the cotton trade, the source, with opium, of much of the city's early wealth.
Snake Charmers
Given how ubiquitous the trope of snake charmers and India was in popular Western culture in the early 20th century, it is refreshing to find that they are not as common in postcards as one might expect. True, major publishers like Clifton & Co.
View From Malabar Hill, Bombay
An early keyhole postcard view of Marine Drive, probably from a photograph made in the 1890s.
Fruit Sellers
A gorgeously coloured collotype with the anonymous note on the front: "They are nearly as nice as ruby lips. best."
Rabindranath Tagore
It is hard to over estimate the importance of Rabindranath Tagore at the beginning of the 20th century.
Benares from the River
The two boats in the foreground distinguish this view of Varanasi.
Elphinstone Bombay
Among the earliest postcards of Bombay from a photograph. One can see the title and photographer inscribed at the bottom of the original glass negative, and the hand-tinting is done in large blocks.
