Sinkaleesch [Singhalese]
There are very few Dutch postcards, let alone early ones, of India, but this is a splendid exception.
There are very few Dutch postcards, let alone early ones, of India, but this is a splendid exception.
A slightly mysterious postcard of a gymkhana, a facility invented by colonial residents as a place to play sports starting the 1860s, and slowly planted across cities and cantonments across the subcontinent.
[Original caption] Ceylon. Banyan Tree Arch, near Colombo.
Timber was mostly used as a building material and for making furniture. Power tools and machines are available to make life easier for carpenters today, but a century ago, specialized workmen plying their trade were a popular postcard theme.
A drawing by the painter M.V. Dhurandhar that animates the meaning of "syce" as having to do with "coaxing." It was defined by Hobson-Jobson (1906): "SYCE (p. 885) SYCE , s. Hind. from Ar. sāïs. A groom.
A real photo postcard likely made and sold by a photographer or vendor to tourists visiting Jaipur.
A rare real-photo court-sized postcard taken inside Almora Jail. Sent to Miss Nancy Iverson in Ealing London and postmarked Almora, Nov. 2, 1904: "Prisoners at work Almora Jail Love Daddy."
An early postcard by the French branch of the premiere Zurich, Switzerland-based publisher Kunzli Freres. The firm's postcard series celebrating mail delivery around the world (see the Kashmir post) are among the most beautiful lithographic
Jute was one of the major agricultural products during the Raj and for some period afterwards, with most of the crop grown in East Bengal, and the fiber processed in mills in and around Kolkata.
A rich scene and well-preserved collotype to match, photographic in spontaneity and effect. One woman is glancing up from the pots, oblivious to another handing her one. Some men look at the camera, others walk by indifferent.