General Post Office, Calcutta
This postcard was sent from Calcutta in April 1905 to Mr. H.G. Squier, "Actg. [Acting?] P. M. [Postmaster?], Manila, P.I. [Philippine Islands]": "4/28/05 Leave today overland by rail to Bombay. Lytton [sp?]."
Clifton & Co.
An Indian Rajah
This unnamed Rajah was a popular postcard subject, in color and black and white. Note how well the image was colorized during the half-tone printing process which had just started to become more widely used for postcards based on photographs.
Shah Alum's Tomb, Ahmedabad
This tomb to one of the most revered of Muslim religious teachers in Gujarat was completed in the late 15th century.
View From Malabar Hill, Bombay
Clifton & Co., the first big Bobby-based publisher had numerous versions of this card. This keyhole-style view – a briefly popular postcard type – works well with the curve of what is now Marine Drive opening out towards the waters of Back Bay.
An Indian Bungalow
Postmarked Seapost Office [Bombay] April 1906, received in Manchester April 28, and addressed to Miss. L. Swill [sp?] in Manchester, England with this note on the front: "What price this for a couple."
The Bund, Poona
An almost technicolor-blue tinted collotype. The bund or dam at Pune was one of the most postcarded views from the city. Built by Sir Jamsetjee Jeetbhoy, a Bombay philanthropist, cotton and opium merchant, it was completed in 1869.
Arhai-Din-Ka-Jhopra, Ajmere
A striking collotype published in many versions by Clifton & Co. The Arhai-Din-Ka-Jhopra was built in the 13th century by the first Muslim Sultan in India, Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, and before him by Abu Bar of Herat, Afghanistan.
Water Bullock
Bullocks that ferried water were called "water bullocks." This colored image by Clifton & Company, one of the earliest mass publishers of postcards in Mumbai (Bombay) was fairly popular, perhaps because of its rich colors.
Parsi Girl
A striking image of a small Parsi girl sitting on a table with her feet on a chair, the "de [of] Bombay" added by the French sender in 1911.
Malabar Hill, Bombay
While quite distinctive, keyhole views like this one were a brief fad that overtook early postcard publishing and soon disappeared.
