Hand-painted

[Zenana Carriage]

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.

[Verso handwritten] "Cawnpore [Kanpur]. Dec.

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High Class People [handwritten]

An unusual humorous hand-painted postcard, as if riding high on a camel makes someone "high class." Hand-painted postcards seem in style to echo much earlier 19th century Company painting styles.

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A hand painted postcard that – if it was also purchased in Ahmedabad, from where it was sent – suggests that these rare postcards relative to the mass-printed ones were also available outside of Bombay. Postmarked 30 November 1908 and sent to Mr.

Read more about [Rajah on Carpet]

Rice Grinding [handwritten]

A rare individually hand-painted postcard of a woman with a traditional stone rice grinder, often used to grind rice batter to make South Indian idlis or dosas.

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Camel Driver [handwritten]

A hand painted postcard from roughly 1905, many of which like printed postcards illustrated the various labor occupations.

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Shoe Maker

This is a hand-painted postcard from around 1905, rather rare in India compared to, say, China where at the time numerous hand-painted postcards were being sent abroad.

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Mohamedan Marriage

Some of the most beautiful and rarest early postcards of India are hand-painted, often with penciled titles and the simply printed word "post card" on the back.

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[Dancer and Musicians]

A hand-painted postcard which has been very nicely constructed to feature the dancer, who is entirely in colour. The musicians are partially sketched, with only their instruments, sashes and turbans coloured.

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Hand-painted