The Gymkhana, Poona
A slightly mysterious postcard of a gymkhana, a facility invented by colonial residents as a place to play sports starting the 1860s, and slowly planted across cities and cantonments across the subcontinent.
Postcard
Ceylon Banyan Tree Arch, Near Colombo
[Original caption] Ceylon. Banyan Tree Arch, near Colombo.
Sawing Timber
Timber was mostly used as a building material and for making furniture. Power tools and machines are available to make life easier for carpenters today, but a century ago, specialized workmen plying their trade were a popular postcard theme.
The Syce
A drawing by the painter M.V. Dhurandhar that animates the meaning of "syce" as having to do with "coaxing." It was defined by Hobson-Jobson (1906): "SYCE (p. 885) SYCE , s. Hind. from Ar. sāïs. A groom.
Street Scene, Jaipur India
A real photo postcard likely made and sold by a photographer or vendor to tourists visiting Jaipur.
Prisoners at Work - Almora Jail
A rare real-photo court-sized postcard taken inside Almora Jail. Sent to Miss Nancy Iverson in Ealing London and postmarked Almora, Nov. 2, 1904: "Prisoners at work Almora Jail Love Daddy."
The Post Office in British India [La Poste Aux Indes Anglaises]
![The Post Office in British India [La Poste Aux Indes Anglaises]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/post-of-india_0.jpg?itok=OSUkuckm "The Post Office in British India [La Poste Aux Indes Anglaises]")
An early postcard by the French branch of the premiere Zurich, Switzerland-based publisher Kunzli Freres. The firm's postcard series celebrating mail delivery around the world (see the Kashmir post) are among the most beautiful lithographic
The Charleville Hotel Mussoorie
When Rudyard Kipling visited Mussoorie in the summer 1888, he wrote two verses by hand in a book of photographs in an album of photographs by Alex Hill (now in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.), which can be found on the website of The
Raw Jute Mill, Calcutta
Jute was one of the major agricultural products during the Raj and for some period afterwards, with most of the crop grown in East Bengal, and the fiber processed in mills in and around Kolkata.
Native pottery Bazaar, Madras
A rich scene and well-preserved collotype to match, photographic in spontaneity and effect. One woman is glancing up from the pots, oblivious to another handing her one. Some men look at the camera, others walk by indifferent.
