An Indian Actress
A startling image of an Indian actress, carrying a bow in one hand, perhaps from the play she is acting in. But is it a she?
Collotype
The Tomb of Itmad-ud-Doula. Agra.
[Original caption] Was an Wazir of the Emperor Jahangir. This Building built during the reign of Jahangir in 1628 A.D. [end]
Itmad-uud-Doula was a member of a ruling group that included Nur Jahan, Emperor Jehanghir's wife, courtier Asaf Khan and
Music
[Verso, handwritten] "Oct. 24, 1915. My dear Annie, Do you think you could play this instrument? The music is very weird but I suppose they think it is nice. I don't!
A Cobbler
An early postcard that blends photography, the collotype printing process and colorization to produce what the Germans called a "Lichtdruck" or "light print" that resembles a painting.
The City and the Mosque of Shah - Hamadan, Srinagar (Kashmir)
Srinagar owes its name to the blend of the words Sri (wealth) and Nagar (city). The wooden architecture of Shah - Hamadan blends Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and local mountain styles.
A Jutka, Madras
Hobson Jobson defines the "jutka" in this finely coloured postcard with condescending tone "s. From Dak. -- Hind. jhaṭkā, 'quick.' The native cab of Madras, and of Mofussil towns in that Presidency; a conveyance only to be characterised by the
Juma Masjid, Delhi with a scene of Annual Friday Prayer-Meeting
[Original caption] Commenced in 1644 A.D. by the Emperor Shahjahan and completed by him in 1658 A.D. Is said to have employed a daily average of 5000 workmen. [end]
At the back of the mosque and foreground of the image, separated by a cloth and stick
Miss Chabukswari of Delhi
Usually, dancing women were unnamed, even when they become famous (for example, Gohar Jan became a "Bombay beauty"). In this case however perhaps her name or fame justified a different approach, and it was better marketing by the unknown publisher to
A Water Carrier, Madras
Today goatskins, pigskins and earthen pitchers have given way to plastic jars and bottles and huge, lumbering dripping water tankers that supplement inadequate piped water supplies in towns and cities throughout South Asia.
Greetings from Jamaica, West Indies
A postcard showing Indian workers ("east Indian coolies") brought to work in Jamaica (the "West Indies") to work, part of an enormous migration of Indian labor to British colonies around the world, many of whose descendants are still living in places
