K. R. Bali
A striking studio portrait – note the painted trees – from the Punjabi garrison town. Only his name is printed on the back.
Real Photo
Marine Drive Bombay
A black and white photograph of the then newly-constructed Art Deco buildings along one the city's posh and popular waterfronts, hand-colored with great design sense.
Great Eastern Hotel, Calcutta
Around the time this postcard was published, H. St.J. B. Philby, the father of the famous British spy Kim Philby (born in Ambala in 1912) and then serving in India, wrote in his memoir Arabian Days (Robert Hale, 1948):
"The Great Eastern Hotel of
Preaching by Riverside, Chittagong Hill Tracts
A rather early real photo postcard from what is now Bangladesh, a part of British India that is vastly under presented in postcard production.
Clifton Karachi
Although this is a different view and title, the crowds suggest it was made during the Maha Shivratri Hindu Festival shown in another postcard.
Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) Karachi Flyby
British Royal Air Force biplanes watched by spectators in Karachi. The R.A.F. frequently used aircraft like these in the northwest on the border with Afghanistan against tribal militias.
In The Khyber
Technically sold as a "Small Series" photography by Randolph Holmes, this candid shot combines sheep, probably a mosque entrance, telegraph and telephone lines.
Nahapiet & Co's. Jute Factory Post Golah, Dacca
A very rare postcard, both because it is from East Bengal now Bangladesh and because it is a very early real photo postcard, a type that did not come into prominence until the next decade.
Toda Temple
This Toda temple still stands and is in use. The photographer's lettering scratched into the negative echoes the camera tilt.
Marine Drive, Bombay
A nice view that guides the eye up the snaked drive.
This card was postmarked from Bombay on Dec. 11, 1953.
