Book Reviews and Articles

Book Reviews and Articles

"Sumptuous and pioneering . . . a truly exceptional book."
Muneeza Shamsie , Jewels in the Crown, NEWSLINE Magazine, Karachi, December 2019

"A vivid, incredibly diverse journey across the South Asia that once was, through its postcards."
Pratak Kanjilal , Send Me a Postcard, Drop Me a Line, Indian Express, Delhi, March 16, 2019

"Omar Khan's impressive and well-produced Paper Jewels (it weights over 2 kilos!) [is] the first book that pays serious attention to the colonial picture postcard . . .. For most postcard collectors, postcards are ephemera; for Khan and those interested in new data sources as clues to the past, they are much more – valuable sources of information to be viewed and studied with enjoyment, if not amusement."
Malavika Karlekar, Malavika Karlekar delights in Omar Khan's Postcards from the Raj, Biblio: A Review of Books, Jan-March 2019

"Omar has delivered a masterpiece in the form of his book ‘Paper Jewels’ - a one of its kind collection, to be envious of, especially for those who scavenge vintage artwork."
Oshin Fernandes , World Post Day 2018: 5 art fanatics and their tryst to revive postcards in a digital era, Free Press Journal, October 9, 2018

"Paper Jewels as a book is undoubtedly a page-turner. In its 360-odd pages lie an insight into history that is so beautifully researched and appropriately accompanied by relevant postcards that one can always go back time and again to refresh our memories."
Latha Venkatraman , Paper Jewels Review: Write to me. . ., Deccan Herald, October 7, 2018

"A handsomely mounted new book . . .."
Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri, How the British used postcards as a propaganda tool during the Bombay plague of 1896, Scroll.in, September 22, 2018

"[A] rich visual archive, rivalling eloquently written historical accounts. Khan weaves in anecdotes with the images, which are laid out generously, their details heightened by the superb production quality."
Somak Ghoshal, News and views from the Raj, livemint, August 31, 2018

"A book that brings together some of the rarest and most valuable illustrated postcards, helps us relive history through these works of practical art."
Yamini Vasudevan, Worth 1000 Words, Culturama, August 2018

Omar Khan, A Time When Postcards Were a Thing of Beauty, The Wire, August 18, 2018

"[The book] captures the many moods of a country under foreign rule... takes the reader on a tour of imagined India, with Omar Khan serving as an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide."
Rajesh Devraj, Post Crossing, India Today, July 30, 2018

"Paper Jewels gives readers a visual tour of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka through 500 vintage postcards... it recreates an era when they were the world’s first 'mass transfusion of colour images'."
Neha Bhatt, Paper Jewels: Tracking postcards from the Raj, The Hindu, July 27, 2018

Vinutha Mallya, Postcards from the Past, Mumbai Mirror, July 8, 2018

"Khan’s collection reveals the role played by the Ravi Varma Press in Karla, in making postcards a popular medium of communication in India in the late-19th and early-20th centuries."
Vinutha Mallya, A Postcard from Pune, Pune Mirror, June 17, 2018

Slideshow, On the Cards, The Hindu Business Line Independence Special, August 11, 2017