A most unusual postcard of a colonial family's two beloved creatures, carefully composed together in the studio, ready for the girl's family to send to relatives.
[Original caption] An Afridi Girl. The Afridis are an Afghan or Pathan people, numbering about 300,000, inhabiting the moutainous region south of the Hindu-Kush. They consist of a number of separate clans, often at feud with each other.
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.
[Original caption]A Procession of Vithaba, a Mahratta Boy. Religious processions in Indian towns are often presented by the "Europe Band." The instruments, of European manufacture, are generally played as loudly as possible, and often with a…
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.
