The Quwwat ul Islam Mosque located in the Kutab complex is a magnificent ruin, and a very popular tourist location today. This transformation began much earlier. As Aditi Chandra recounts in her book Unruly Monuments Disrupting the State at Delhi's
Known as the 'Old Fort' of Delhi, the Purana Qil'a, lies on the eastern edge of Delhi, along the river Jumna.
This is a superbly hand-tinted postcard, with both swathes of color (pink and blue) and individual color specs in the crowd mixed with the black ink of the collotype enhancing the effect of a real crowd praying.
One of the more richly coloured postcards of the Hawa Mahal, built in 1799. Note the care with which individual blankets have been tinted in the foreground.
Postcards of Pathans who inhabited the North West Frontier Province (NWFP, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bordering Afghanistan were often shown with their weapons, in poses that made them see dangerous.
Princess Jahanara's Tomb was built during her lifetime and completed in 1681, the year of her death.
Much of the early postcard market was driven by collectors who exchanged cards with each other around the world, as this text on this card illustrates. Addressed to Frau Emma Valenti in Trieste, Austria:
"Madame,
Your cards to hand.
Jadu Kissen’s Archaeological Photographic Works of India, Cashmere Gate, Delhi, was originally archaeological photographer to the Government of Punjab, had an office in Simla (1912), and published many archaeologically-themed postcards.
Postmarked
A beautiful postcard from archaeological photographer Jadu Kissen, who had an office in Srinagar or may have worked for The Archaeological Survey of India in Kashmir at some point.
The claim that this is a much extolled Kashmiri beauty is probably true, as this particular woman seems to appear on other postcards from the period. She is wearing the traditional Kashmiri dress, the pheran, and could be wearing a watch on her left
