Part of a unique series of court-sized postcards showing the Kolar Gold Fields, India's largest until it was closed in 2001. That series includes Hajee Ismail Saits New Sawmill, Kolar Gold Fields and Extracting Gold, Cyanide Works, Kolar Fields.
Note the diagonal leading the eye into a rich scene, the figures in the corners of the frame, the tethered cow on the left, the pots in the coals, the vibrancy of this human space under a hoisted banner.
An unusual early "Greetings from" card by Wiele & Klein, one of the leading photographic studios in South India. The woman looks slightly bored, if not irritated in this studio pose.
![Greetings from Madras [Message]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/greetings-from-madras-wiele-klein.jpg?itok=VPBE9a0x "Greetings from Madras [Message]")
This particular card was mailed to France from Chennai on Dec. 25, 1900. Note the entire message is readable, but from what is seems to say:
[Unclear first word] "Happy new year, Mr. Francis. Really it is not cold here. Antoine."
[Original French,
A very early "Greetings from"postcard. Note how the top two images are also prefixed with a "View of" as part of the title. See the version with a message in French.
With the exceptions of Bangalore and Belgaum, there are not many postcards of smaller cities in Karnataka; even today, Palakkad's population is less than 150,000. This shot of a large mansion concealed by trees on the left and carts in the center of
The Madras Port (now called Chennai Port) is more than 125 years old. The construction of this pier was a major step as previously, bringing people and goods to land via boats from large ships was treacherous.
Postmarked 19 Feb [1907] and addressed
A moody image in sepia of palm trees in the Chepauk district of Chennai.
[Verso] “Madras. 27.12.13. On the run again this time Madras Bombay Karachi Lahore Calcutta Rangoon.
The Shree Jagannath Temple was built about 900 years ago; this court-sized postcard from around 1900 is likely to be among the very earliest from the Indian state of Odisha. The temple is also the source of the English word "juggernaut."
According to
Most big Madras studios and retailers had branches in Ooti, among them Wiele & Klein, publisher of this very early court-sized view, possibly the earliest of the hillstation.
