Sampling and Weighing Cotton
Mumbai grew from the 1860s through the 1890s largely because of the international cotton trade, which went from exporting cotton to textile manufacturing mills dotting the city.
Clifton & Co.
Group of famine stricken victims
There were numerous famines during the Raj, some like this one around the turn of the century, often simultaneous with plagues that came to Bombay by ship.
An Indian Bungalow
An Indian Bungalow or single story house.
The word bungalow derives from the Gujarati word baṅglo and means "Bengali", used to communicate "house in the Bengal style". Such houses were traditionally small, thatched and had a wide veranda.
Ancient Buddhist Temple Gwalior
Buddhism had largely departed India by this time, having flourished between the 3rd century BCE and 13th century CE, but its temples still stood and were frequently subjects of postcards.
A Mohamedan dancing Girl in Attitude
This so-called "chromo-collotype" card was created by running an image derived from a black and white photograph through multiple color runs, after each color had dried, creating rich and translucent images.
University Gardens and Clock Tower, Bombay
An early view of Bombay by one of its preeminent early postcard publishers. It shows the Rajabai Tower, completed in 1878 on the grounds of the University of Mumbai.
Hindu Monkey Temple
One of the most famous temples in Mumbai, Dwarkadhish Temple, built in 1875, was often referred to as the Monkey Temple because of the figures of monkeys eating bananas on the front.
The Albert Museum, Jaipur
Compare this to an earlier color postcard of the Albert Museum by the same firm from the same image, made when color printing of postcards from photographs was much less sophisticated, at least on a level where costs were low enough for mass consumer
The Albert Museum, Jeypore
A very early postcard of Jaipur, made from an albumen print, title and photographer visible in white where it was inscribed onto the albumen negative. The color was applied through hand-tinting. Compare to a colorized postcard of the same image made
A Table Servant
Note the liquor bottle, likely whisky and soda on the tray in the khitmatgar's hands.
