Group of Indian Fakirs
A very early postcard of fakirs or sadhus, usually shown individually in close-up. Combridge & Co.
Fakir
A Begging Fakir Punjab
[Original caption] A Begging Fakir.
Tibetan Mendicant
An uncommon type of postcard flourished in Darjeeling, with individuals on real-photo black and white postcards carefully silhouetted and then individually hand-painted.
An Indian Fakir
Although it is a single fakir at the doorway who is the subject of the postcard's title, it is the colors of the entrance to the Golden Temple in Amritsar that catch our eye.
A Benares Brahmin
An early (undivided back) postcard from Bombay's premiere bookstore and important postcard publisher and retailer at the turn of the century.
Fakirs
[Original caption] Fakirs. The Fakirs are a large body of religious fanatics. They go naked or in filthy rags, and partake only of the meanest food, and that without request or thanks.
A Mendicant
The term mendicant refers to begging or relying on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely on charity to survive. Plate & Co.
Alastor Mystic
[Original back of advertising card] Alastor-Mystic-The Astrologer, Handreader and Clairvoyant from England. May be Consulted Daily at the Great Eastern Hotel, Calcutta, Room 59. (Hours 10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Gosavi (Ascetic)
A very early postcard printed in India. Gosavi is a Marathi word that refers to someone who has renounced worldly pleasures and wears garments of the "brick-dust" color shown here.
A Mountebank
A curious case of an Italian word finding itself stamped upon a postcard of a characteristic type in India (the fakir, in this case a mendacious one). Mountebank is an old word for a charlatan, or salesman of quack medicines.
