Bombay Police
A rare lithograph from 1907 or beyond. Note the British policeman in side profile, the local constable saluting him. They are nearly the same height. The background reveals itself to be a cutout of the city, the policeman's terrain.
Men
Sardar Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh, who was hung in a Lahore jail on March 23, 1931 is the subject of continuing dispute in Lahore. Motions have been filed to name what is now a traffic chowk after Bhagat Singh. From The Times of India story: "Bhagat Singh Memorial
The "Chuprassie"
Hobson-Jobson's, the famous dictionary of Anglo-Indian terms, defines Chuprassy as "the bearer of a chapras, i.e. a badge-plate inscribed with the name of the office to which the bearer is attached. The chaprasi is an office-messenger, or henchman,
33rd Punjabis
A postcard by the high-quality publisher A.C. Black and Co., Soho Square, London that was used to market their book The Armies of India by Col. A.C. Lovett and Major C.F. MacMunn (1911). The 33rd Punjabis go back to 1857 as the Allahabad Levy and
Ahmedabad Hindu
An lithographic postcard, published in India, possibly by "Haji Yusuf Haji Mohammed. Pictures, Post-cards & Cutlery Merchant. Grant Road Cross-Lane.
Indian Postman
An early Belgian advertising card for Lux – but not the soap!
A Kashmir Boatman, Srinagar
An unusual vertical postcard, with the boat spilling out of the near frame, and an active centered boatman. An unknown owner wrote in pen on the back: "Note the shape of the paddle.
Indian Soldier, World War I
A beautiful lithographic postcard celebrating an Indian soldier in World War I. Published in Lausanne, Switzerland, its design is exquisite: the flag just breaks the white border in a field of red, and features a faux postmark from the campaign.
A Rajput of Rajgarh
A magnificent postcard by the Australian painter Mortimer Menpes (1860-1938), based on a visit to India he made for the 1903 Darbar. An ageing warrior is given life by dazzling colors.
The "Dhoby"
Hobson Jobson (1903) the great dictionary of Indian words in English, defines "Dhoby, Dobie s. A washerman; H. dhobi [from dhona, Skt. [Sanskrit] dhav, 'to wash.'] In colloquial Anglo-Indian use all over India. A common H. [Hindustani] proverb runs:
