This particular postcard is among the hardest of Gerhardt's early works for The Ravi Varma Press to find, despite the effective use of depth of field to bring life to the scene.
A less-typical image of an "Indian well," with a rugged sloping foreground that reminds the viewer how far beneath water could lie and the messiness of its extraction.
A hand-painted postcard; given that cards retailed for one anna around this time, maybe two, after materials, one can only imagine how little the bazaar artist was paid.
There is actually a lot of interesting information on this card. The cart and draped cows are clearly high-end. The boy seems to be on his way to a ceremony or event of some importance.
The Sri Lankan tea industry grew from 250 acres under cultivation in 1876 to almost 400,000 acres in 1900.8 Some 150 million tonnes of tea were produced in 1900 worth 50 million rupees, half of Ceylon’s total exports.
