Little children were one of the most popular subjects of early postcards from Chennai (Madras). Many of the little children in these postcards wore – or were dressed with – a lot of jewelry, which would have made them compelling subjects.
Mela Ram was a photographer who might have warmly welcomed the advent of the real-photograph as a way for his art to take precedence over the vagaries of publishing in collotype or halftone using hand-tinted color to enhance images (there are few
Women of Kashmir pounded grain to remove hard shells and grind it into flour using long wooden poles; those who lived in small boats moored along the banks of rivers sat at the prows while pounding grain.
Kulri Bazaar, Mussoorie almost feels painterly in its alternating pattern light and soft dark fabrics. In the center, his back turned to us, but with no apparent import, is a British man wearing an infamous solar topee, the sartorial logo of the Raj.
[Original caption]A Procession of Vithaba, a Mahratta Boy.
A very early postcard printed in India and signed by the Ravi Varma Press chief lithographer and also painter, Paul Gerhardt. The title "Bakshis[h] Saheb" refers to the call for alms made by beggars.
[Original caption, Verso] “Watching the Pageant, Delhi. The great Delhi Durbar is known by means of the vernacular press to the inhabitants of the remotest parts of India.
This image published by The Colombo Apothecaries is apparently based on an original albumen photograph taken in the 1870s or 1880s by the British photographer Charles Scowen who sold his negatives to the firm when he tried to become a planter in
