Bombay Mumbai

Postman

Postman

A portrait of the man who made the postcard revolution possible. While the original for this may have been a photograph of an actual postman, the broad strokes make it possible that a painted portrait was used as the source.

Sir J. N. Tata

Sir J. N. Tata

The "father of Indian industry." Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904) was born in Gujarat and graduated from Elphinstone College in Mumbai in 1858. He founded and sold a successful trading firm, and then built a successful cotton mill that since

Hindu Beauty

Hindu Beauty

A lithographic card, most likely done by an Indian artist and printed in Britain. Note how nicely the woman is foregrounded from a low angle, with a smaller temple in the background and a swirl of green that helps give life to the portrait.

Orthodox Hindu Widow

Orthodox Hindu Widow

An exquisite Dhurandhar portrait, this of a widow framed in front of a tree and a temple in the background. Orthodox widows were normally not permitted to remarry and had to obey strict dress codes like not wearing a blouse under her sari.

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