[Original caption translated] "Indian vehicle harnessed with 2 mules used for refueling [end]. One of many French postcards celebrating Indian troops who fought on the Allied side in World War I. Note the snow on the ground.
It is to Bremner's credit that he managed to capture some of the most fleeting figures on camera, even if in rich, "picturesque" surroundings like this one where their presence added context and measure to images (and the trade that flowed through…
A curious postcard, referring to a home or gardens or hotel owned by one Ram Charan Das, described as "a banker, and Honorary Magistrate of Allahabad. Was granted the title, as a personal distinction, January 2, 1893.
"RAJA, RAJAH , s. Skt. rājā, 'king.' The word is still used in this sense, but titles have a tendency to degenerate, and this one is applied to many humbler dignitaries, petty chiefs, or large Zemindars.
"The foreign office is a picturesque building, somewhat in the Chalet style, built in 1888. It is located near Chaura Maidan" (Gazetteer of the Simla District, 1904, p. 123).
The growth of a city like Bombay was largely dependent on the work of laborers who carried bricks and building materials on wicker baskets on construction sites, much like they do today, which must be part of the reason why they were such common…
A humourous postcard showing a sleeping father, who is supposed to be pulling the punkah [fan] string to cool the off-framed European, but instead has delegated the task to his son. The punkahwallah not doing his duty was a common postcard theme.
