Halftone

An early coloured postcard of the annual Muslim Shia procession on the 21st day of the month of Ramadan commemorating the death of Hazrat Ali, the fourth Caliph.

A lavishly illustrated studio postcard; note how the presumably dancer is displaying her ghungroos on her ankles.

Compare to the black and white collotype of the same photograph.

From today's perspective, an unusual subject given the lack of beauty, architectural significance or human type that grace most early postcards.

The Bengali writer Nirad Chaudhuri (1897-1999) described the Eid celebrations in his birthplace of Kishorganj, Mymensingh, now in Bangladesh: "Since the Id moves backwards round the year it had no particular association with season and weather as…

An advertising postcard celebrating the Independence struggle and the poet Sarojini Naidu, who the Turkish poet Halide Edib, then on a visit to India, described in her book Inside India (1938, p. 44):

[Original caption] Government House - Calcutta has been called a City of palaces: Government House is the Palace of the Viceroy.

[Original caption] A Begging Fakir. A fakir is one of the most frequent met types in India, which literally swarms with these "holy men." A fakir is a sacred person, whose life is spent under self-imposed vows, of which poverty is usually a…

Gokteik Viaduct was constructed by the Pennsylvania Steel Company in the Shan state of Upper Burma. This bridge is 320 feet in height and 2,250 feet in length and consists of ten spans.

[Original caption] Dhurmtollah Musjid. One of the busiest localities of Calcutta. It is noticeable that in Dhurmtollah Lane, the names on the shops and offices are all native names while close by in Dhurmtollah Street they are chiefly European.

[Original caption] Want to Fight for England. Members of the Indian native regiments are clamoring to fight for England. Our photo shows the Indian native cavalry. [end]