Indian Topics Cotton Weaving
J.D. Gondhalekar (1909-1981) produced a series of at least ten postcards called "Indian Topics" around 1942, among the few Indian-artist signed postcard series from colonial times.
Labor
Bengali Girls Grinding Rice
Postmarked Montral December 22, 1907 and sent to Miss Undine [?] Hemming, 213 West 16th St., Los Angeles, CA with this message: "14 Helen St., Montreal. Dear Undine, Have not had a word from any of you for quite a long period.
A Charcoal Seller, Dalhousie
A charcoal seller she may have been, but the nose ring, choker and hookah suggest she had other skills too. This is likely a woman as she seems to be dressed in a typical Pahari style of the era.
Famine relief Work. Digging the big well
While it is unclear where and when this postcard was taken, it could have been in 1899-1900 when there was a large famine in Hyderabad with relief works photographed by Raja Lala Deen Dayal.
A Lady in Dandy
While the word "dandy" suggests being fashionable, and may be a secondary meaning, the word is said to actually come from "dandi" or the Hindi/Urdu word for stick, which are used to distribute the woman's weight across them men's shoulders.
Another
Hillman Carrying Wood
Many postcards speak to the physical labor that allowed residents of hillstations to warm their homes and cook their food, often leading men and women with permanently bent backs.
A Boothea Milkman
A studio portrait full of contradictions. The milkman from Darjeeling of Tibetan ancestry is shown with an English church in the deep background.
Panwala (Betel Nut Dealer)
A rather impressive portrait, from a slightly low angle, giving the boy a certain grandeur. Unfortunately, a most rarely postcarded occupation.
Postmen of the British Empire: Burmah, India
Part of a series showing postmen around the world. This was postmarked in Spalding, Britain,May 6, 1905 and addressed to Mr. G. Riseley, 41 Norfolk Street, King,s Lynn: "Parcel arrived safely. Vest too large, others a fit. Jack."
We Often Go Rattling Along In These Rickety "Rickshaws"
Part of a series of calendar and regular postcards by the Kolkata artist Merton Lacey made for US troops in the city supporting the Allied front against Japan and supporting China during World War II.
