Cotton Pickers
Many early Bombay postcards focused on the cotton trade, the source, with opium, of much of the city's early wealth.
People
State Elephant, Jeypore
[Verso] "Mission Hospital, Kolar, India.
Dear aunt Connie:
This will not reach you until after your birthday. Am sorry I did not get it off before. Hope you have a very happy day. This center piece was made in a Mission School. Much Love, Edith.
Hill Tribes, Simla
Postmarked Ferozpur, January 13, 1910 and addressed to Master Bottie Anderson, 92 Manor Park, London S.E. England.
"Lots of Love and Kisses from Daddy & Mother Ferozpur Jan 13 1910."
Snake Charmers
Given how ubiquitous the trope of snake charmers and India was in popular Western culture in the early 20th century, it is refreshing to find that they are not as common in postcards as one might expect. True, major publishers like Clifton & Co.
Dharmsala, The Goorkha Barracks
The April 4, 1905 earthquake, one of the largest in India history, killed over 20,000 people. This undivided back postcard would have been one of the first times the postcard was being put to the reporting of current events use in British India.
The Mall Murree
One of those postcards that illustrates the elasticity of time. The protagonist in the foreground is blurry because of the long exposure, perhaps a second or two, that the photographer required for the shot.
Hindu Women Carrying Water
A very early blue-toned postcard from booksellers Cobridge and Co. Sent from Bombay's Sea Post Office, date unclear, to Mr. J. Sherman, 12 Middleton Square, Clerkennell, E.C. London, England: "With fondest love to all from Arthur."
Singapore - Chinois Coiffeur un Indien [Chinese Dresses Hair of an Indian]
![Singapore - Chinois Coiffeur un Indien [Chinese Dresses Hair of an Indian]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/singapore-chinois-coiffeur-un-indien.jpg?itok=wsuufplI "Singapore - Chinois Coiffeur un Indien [Chinese Dresses Hair of an Indian]")
There are few postcards available of Indians who worked, often as indentured labor, in other British possessions before Independence.
Rabindranath Tagore
A curiously hand-tinted sepia real photo postcard of the great Bengali writer and multi-faceted artist (1861-1941), with pink expertly applied on the inside garment peeking out from below.
Chalking the Doorstep, Madras
Kolams or muggulu are thought to bring prosperity to homes. These intricate rice flour decorations are made by women in front of doorsteps primarily in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Feeding a Thousand Souls Women, Ritual, and Ecology in
