Smoking Hookah
A distinctly colored postcard, with the pinkish mud offsetting the green grass and white garb of the smoker. Note the little boy and half-hidden woman watching from the hut.
Lithograph
Lithograph
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.
Continental Pneumatic Carriage Tyres
Before there were cars, there were carriages, and even these could benefit from pneumatic tyres which were inflated by air and led to more comfortable rides.
A Money Lender
"The stranger unacquainted with conditions in India, and visiting Bombay for the first time, cannot fail to be impressed by an inspection of the huge assortment of books which Messrs D B Taraporevala, Sons and Co find it necessary to keep in hand to
Lord Clive Boldly and Sincerely
The imperialism is repugnant, but there is no doubt that this rare card by British publisher C.W. Faulkner & Co. is a masterpiece of design.
Calcutta
A very early lithographic postcard of Calcutta, postmarked as early as the first half of 1899, and published from Budapest, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Calcutta
[Original] Durga - Great Eastern Hotel - Telegraph Office - Snake Charmers [end]
A card from the earliest known series of Calcutta postcards by the Austrian photographer W.
A young Hindu married couple.
This card was made primarily for domestic audiences as the Hindi title, and secondary English title cleverly tucked into a corner vertically suggest. Note how the remnants of another postcard from a skewed cut is visible at the top.
Fruit-seller
The Chitra Shala Press in Pune was one of the first and most prominent 19th century printers in India, and an early pioneer of lithographic printing in the subcontinent, known for their wall-size prints of Hindu religious scenes, playing cards and
Snake Charmer
Snake charmers are one of the most common early Indian postcard subjects, and this must be one of the earliest and most beautiful such views. Note the clever use of the palm backdrop to create the illusion of depth, and the rich use of red.
