Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
The Taj Hotel was built to realize Jamsetji N. Tata's dream of a fine hotel to reflect the ascendancy of Bombay's own mercantile class.
Postcard
A Kashmiri Nautch Girl
One of the earliest postcards of a Kashmiri nautch girl, this was mailed from Chenna (Madras) on Sept. 17, 1903 to Miss Olive McMillan, St. Augustine's, Cliftonville, Margate, England: "With many Salaams from Mother."
See Clifton & Co.'s version of
Calcutta. Devil Dancers.
[Original caption] Devil Dancers, Calcutta. The Devil Dancer with his painted body, hideous mask, and fantastic head-dress is supposed to strike terror unto the beholder; as a rule he but succeeds in amusing him.
Pagodas by Moonlight
[Original caption] Pagodas by Moonlight. A group of pagodas in Mandalay by the brilliant light of a tropical moon. [end]
Edith Pinhey, married to a judge in Bombay, was an artist and one of the few women to have signed Tucks postcards of the
Wood-house Road, Bombay
A quick glance at this postcard might make you think it is a European city, but it is actually a street in Mumbai with the Cathedral of the Holy Name, the seat of the Archbishop of Bombay. Opened in 1902, it was new around the time of this postcard.
Satyavati and Shantanu
[Original caption] Shantanu is trying to persuade Satyavati, the adopted daughter of a fisher, to marry him, & thus to satisfy his passionate desire. [end]
Cawnpore - Ganges Canal view.
Kanpur, known as Cawnpore before 1948, is one of the larger cities in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Once mainly a cantonment town, and scene of much fighting in 1857, today it is an important industrial center.
Nautch Girls
Note how carefully this postcard has been hand-tinted, even the studio carpet adding a little depth.
Delhi. The Old Magazine Gate.
In 1835, Robert Smith, a Military Engineer, constructed this building used for ammunition storage. It apparently still stands as a ruin, after the actual depot was blown up during the Uprising of 1857.
School Boys & Master
A really well hand-tinted postcard, the boys foregrounded in unflinching skin tones while master is enveloped in white.
