Calcutta (A Monsoon Sunset)
Another painted postcard by the Anglo-Indian artist Frank Clinger Scallan (1870-1950) whose Kolkata series of nearly a dozen postcards reflects the pleasures of life in what was British India's largest metropolis.
People
Barber at Work
A fine example of hand-tinting and documentation on a postcard. Note how the barber's entire work kit is proudly displayed at the bottom of the image, all of which fits into a leather satchel.
Much extolled Beauty in Kashmir
The claim that this is a much extolled Kashmiri beauty is probably true, as this particular woman seems to appear on other postcards from the period. She is wearing the traditional Kashmiri dress, the pheran, and could be wearing a watch on her left
India
Postcards actually developed in part from advertising cards.
A Happy Christmas A Travelling Student and Singer
A regular Tuck's card turned into a Christmas with the embossed greeting on top.
[Original caption] A Travelling Student and Singer. The picture shows a Brahman from the Northern parts of India, a vaishnava by religion.
Bombay. A Street Scene Pydowni Junction
[Original caption] A Street Scene, Pydowni Junction. A typical street scene in Bombay. [end]
Where the Faithful of Islam Meet
[Original caption] Where the Faithful of Islam meet. There are more than 60 millions of Mohammedans in India subdivided into many classes, The verandah from which the muezzin calls to the faithful at the house of prayer is conspicuous in the picture.
Marwari
A moneylender strutting through the public square, carrying the ominous red books he uses to chase debtors through the courts, the vibrant city his backdrop.
A Fruit Stall, Northern India
[Original caption] Indian fruit is varied and luscious. Among the most popular are melons, guavas, bananas and mangoes. These, and others, are readily bought, and the fruit stall is a flourishing institution in every Indian bazaar. [end]
From a
Calcutta, Performing Bears
[Original caption] Performing Bears, Calcutta. It is a common occurrence in Calcutta and other cities of India to meet the native from the hills leading a small bear that is found in the Himalayas and other mountain districts.
