Dambatenne Estate, established in 1890, is still part of the Lipton's team empire. Perhaps most noteworthy about this advertising postcard is the way the woman's orange clothing is both distinct from and engulfed by the tea leaves.
[Original caption] The amount of tea exported from Ceylon annually exceeds 150,000,000 lbs., and about 400,000 coolies from Southern India are employed in the tea gardens.
[Original caption] No. 7 - Withering: The First Manufacturing Process - The freshly plucked leaf is spread thinly on shelves of jute-hessian of wire and left to wither from 18 to 20 hours. The tea leaves are then cut to bring out the juice.
The tea industry was so important to Ceylon, that postcards illustrated each step in the process of picking, drying and transporting tea to the harbor at Colombo from where it was shipped abroad.
