Our Dhoby, Madras
The dhobi was a favorite postcard subject, with the colors on this postcard - note the brilliant white - likely stenciled in by the publisher in India.
Higginbotham & Co.
Chalking the Doorstep, Madras
The Kolam tradition of creating complex geometric patterns, often passed down from mother to daughter, out of rice flour or chalk in front of the home is an ancient tradition in South India and elsewhere.
Afraid of his Complexion
Or is he trying to keep cool? This series of humourous postcards seems to feature the same protagonist.
A Lazy Father
A humourous postcard showing a sleeping father, who is supposed to be pulling the punkah [fan] string to cool the off-framed European, but instead has delegated the task to his son. The punkahwallah not doing his duty was a common postcard theme.
A Fruit Seller, Madras
A very finely hand-tinted postcard, with the indigo closely fitting the cloth, one arm balancing a basket of fruit on the seller's head, the other reaching out to the viewer with a bright red sample.
The Pykara Falls, Nilgiris
This card showing a river sacred to the Toda people and now used to generate hydroelectric power from many places was sent to Mr. Hans Lichtmess, Lenaugasse 11, Vienna VIII, Austria: [Verso, handwritten] "Received your p.c.
A Jutka, Madras
Hobson Jobson defines the "jutka" in this finely coloured postcard with condescending tone "s. From Dak. -- Hind. jhaṭkā, 'quick.' The native cab of Madras, and of Mofussil towns in that Presidency; a conveyance only to be characterised by the
A Water Carrier, Madras
Today goatskins, pigskins and earthen pitchers have given way to plastic jars and bottles and huge, lumbering dripping water tankers that supplement inadequate piped water supplies in towns and cities throughout South Asia.
Kolar Gold Field - Champion Reef Mine
The world's second deepest gold mine near Bangalore. Gold had long been known in the area, but it was only after the application of new engineering methods that size-able finds in the 1880s justified larger investments.
The Coolest Place in the House.
A postcard that sums up the fantasy of colonial life for Europeans. The dog resting by the tub is to Indians most unhygienic, but to Europeans the ultimate Raj bathroom accessory.
