The history of Varanasi, also called Benares, can be traced back to the time of Gautama Buddha 2,500 years ago when it was the capital of Kashi. This is from a series of lithographs by the Austrian painter Josef Hoffmann published in Vienna in 1898. Other Hoffmann postcards were also “Edited” by Thacker & Co., and like this one used English titles, showing how the terminology for these things was still in flux and how a small Austrian publisher could distribute internationally through a partner; postcards were a global medium on many levels.
Postmarked Seapost, Bombay, Sept. 16, 1899 and addressed to Gentilissima Signorina [Gentle Miss] Lucia Merlato, S. Giorgius St 1 I mo/fr, Trieste, Austria: [Recto, Italian] “Distinti Salutirlla Prinsrettobile Farmiglia” [Distinguished Greetings to the Prinsrettobile Family]