Calcutta
[Original] Durga - Great Eastern Hotel - Telegraph Office - Snake Charmers [end]
A card from the earliest known series of Calcutta postcards by the Austrian photographer W.
People
A young Hindu married couple.
This card was made primarily for domestic audiences as the Hindi title, and secondary English title cleverly tucked into a corner vertically suggest. Note how the remnants of another postcard from a skewed cut is visible at the top.
Zuhoorun (Nautch-Girl).
Dancing girl of India on a popular Tuck's painted postcard, probably signed by G.E. McCulloch. Nautch or nach, a word used in several languages of North India, is an Indian term for "dance", and indicates several forms of popular dancing styles.
Colombo. Katamaran, Native Fishing Boat
[Original caption] Catamaran-Native Fishing Boat. These, as well as the canoes of Ceylon, are very picturesque. The fine human figures of the crew, the dark sails against a deep blue sky, would give an artist continual delight.
A Bhistee [Watercarrier]
![A Bhistee [Watercarrier]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/a-bhistee_0.jpg?itok=DCLgU_Ef "A Bhistee [Watercarrier]")
One of the most popular subjects of early postcards was the water-carrier, shown here together with a buffalo. Perhaps Hobson Jobson's definition for what it spells as "Bheesty" helps to explain why (1903, p.
Native Village Street N.W. Frontier, India
[Original caption] A Native Village Street. Although many buildings in India are solid, substantial structures of considerable architectural interest, most of the villages and towns are made up entirely of wood.
Darjeeling. The Bazaar.
Darjeeling, located in the lower range of the Himalaya, is often called the "Queen of the Hills." Its Sunday market, when villagers and merchants from the neighbouring villages and towns come to offer their wares, was a very popular postcard subject
Calcutta. Snake Charmers.
[Original caption] Snake Charmers, Calcutta. The Snake Charmer, as a rule, is an itinerant being, who is glad to charm his snakes in your compound, or before your house or bungalow, for a small reward.
Prisoners making Cane Chairs, Yarrowda Jail
Yerwada Jail was one of the most famous in India. Convicted prisoners in Indian jails are often given different tasks while they serve their sentence like preparing meals for the inmates, doing laundry and making cane chairs.
[Afghan Territory Border with British India]
![[Afghan Territory Border with British India]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/afghan-border_0.jpg?itok=GodipM67 "[Afghan Territory Border with British India]")
The western edge of the Raj was the border with Afghanistan on the Khyber Pass. The man standing next to the sign is probably an Afghan border guard.
