The Ravi Varma Press

[Scene around Karla, Maharashtra]

An unusual card from The Ravi Varma Press which shows two women walking among a crowd in a makeshift bazaar, part of a set of similar cards.

Read more about [Scene around Karla, Maharashtra]

Bear-Leader (Darweshi)

A very early lithographed card by Paul Gerhardt, who ran the lithographic printers at the Ravi Varma Press.

Sent to Miss Ettoi Virmillion, 52 West & South, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, via San Francisco: [Recto] "Bombay 22 March 1905. Very bare. Will"

Read more about Bear-Leader (Darweshi)

Mohini

[Original caption] The Goddess of beauty sitting on a swing [end]

This image by Ravi Varma was one of his most successful in calendar art. Shown here she is perfect and ordinary, ideal yet accessible.

Read more about Mohini

Kirat & Bhilli

[Original caption] Kirata Bhilli:– God Shankar dressed as a hunter and Goddess Parvati as huntress. [end]

Read more about Kirat & Bhilli

Elphinstone College

One of the most educational institutions in India, Elphinstone College was established in 1856. Graduates include Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sir Pherozshah Mehta, and Jamsetji Tata.

Read more about Elphinstone College

[Original caption] Sita Vanawasa :– Sita, when captured by Ravan, the king of Lanka, was carried and kept in a forest named "Ashok-van" by him, and he ordered demons to watch her. This picture represents that Sita sat thinking under a tree. [end]

Read more about Sita-Vanvas

Tanjore dancing girl

Among the first series of postcards printed in India by The Ravi Varma Press, this lithograph by the German artist at the Press, Paul Gerhardt, shows how in these very early days, placing the title was not quite fixed by convention, It could easily

Read more about Tanjore dancing girl

Native Street

Unlike many photographic postcards that emphasized the crowded nature of Bombay bazaars at the turn of the century, Gerhardt opens up the foreground in this painted depiction to create a more spacious and effect.