A Persian Gypsy Woman and Her Children
[Original caption] A Persian Gypsy Woman and Children. These itinerant vendors of small articles travel far and wide through India, often pretending also to occult knowledge.
People
Greetings from Darjeeling
One can only marvel at the early "Greetings from" postcard, the way five photographs are woven into one image with the help of plant motifs, in this case tree branches but often palm trees for Indian images.
Punjab Rose
An impressive studio shot that lays bare the artifice used to make these images work: the painted backdrop with visible border, the matching design shoes and carpet, the desk or piano the woman's arm is resting on, surrounded by an oval frame common
Singhalese ayah (Nurse Maid)
Plate & Co. in Colombo dominated the postcard trade on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and sold half a million postcards in 1907 alone, an enormous sum for a single publisher.
Master Nandram
A hand-tinted real photography by an exceptional filmi postcard publisher in Sukkur, Sindh. The actor Nandram starred in the film Master Stroke (1927) which this postcard may celebrate, else the "Master" may simply be his title.
Expecting
A rare image of a pregnant woman (or is she just waiting?), posing in a studio, with an abundance of real vegetation surrounding her.
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?
Coolie with his Basket
A postcard by the great Indian painter M.V. Dhurandhar illustrating an Englishwoman looking over a coolie offering his services with an empty basket. Note the cleverly positioned Indian woman with a basket on her head in the background.
The message
Afghan Women in Kerzawahs, Khyber Pass
[Original caption] A Kerzawah is a popular method of transport in the Indo-Afghan frontier, the camel being the usual beast of burden, and able to carry four persons in a load.
Indian Dancing Girl
One of the more elaborately framed and coloured portraits of a nautch girl.
