Paul Gerhardt[signed]
c. 1899
12.30x
8.85cm
In India, elephants are revered as symbols of wisdom and good luck. Once it was common to find elephants on the roads of Mumbai. Elephants played a significant part in religious ceremonies and their presence was a status symbol during wedding celebrations. However, the Mumbai State Government banned domesticated elephants from the streets of the city in 2007.
Note the trademark Gerhardt palm trees softly woven in as theatrical backdrop.
Postmarked Bombay January 22, 1905 and addressed to Miss Etta Virmillion, 511 West of Salt Lake City, Utah, via San Francisco: [Recto, 4 lines] "Bombay, 22 March 1905 511 West of Salt One of our elephants Will"