Nautch Girl
The role of nautch or "dancing" girl was changing at the time of this postcard. S.S.
1900-1909
Nautch Girl at her toilet
A slightly unusual portrait of two nautch girls in what seems like a room but is likely a studio given the painted column on the left. The bed is a prop, and the woman seated on the floor is apparently holding a mirror to the woman seated on the bed.
Lascar
Lascars were sailors, mostly from the subcontinent, serving on European ships that sailed the world and who spoke their own multinational tongue, "Lascari." Throughout the 16th through 19th centuries many landed in Britain and America, with a few
Ajmir. General View No. 1.
Ajmer, in the middle of Rajasthan, is a known for its tomb of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, a Sufi Saint
Raja Ajay Pal Chauhan founded the city of Ajmer in the 11th century, although even older structures have been found in the area.
Calcutta. Dalhousie Barrack Fort William.
Fort William in Calcutta, completed in 1781, is a remnant British colonial rule.
Dalhousie Barrack, a four-storey building, is a captivating component of Fort William. Today it is the Military Head quarters of the Eastern Command of Indian Army.
Lucknow. The Kaiser Pasund.
Lucknow, the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh, is often called the "city of the Nawabs."
The pillars, domes and minarets of Kaiser Pasand drew on Mughal architecture and European styles popular among Lucknow's ruling class in the 1820s when the
A Jain Priest
Another Dhurandhar postcard masterpiece, with the pale green background and statue of Lord Mahavir, the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion setting off the living priest in the foreground.
A Street Scene, Delhi
A postcard sent from Bareilly in UP to a woman in France in 1905 shows how the placement of stamps was on the front of a postcard was once itself a performative art.
Chitpore Road, Calcutta
One of Tuck's very first Kolkata postcards, before they put explanatory captions on the back.
Chitpur (Chitpore) owes its name to goddess Chiteswari whose temple was destroyed during the earthquake of 1737. Chitpur road, one of Kolkata's oldest roads
Bruce Road, Quetta. Summer
One of the nice things about early postcards like this one of the main street (now known as Jinnah Road) in Quetta, Balochistan are the businesses and names that they reveal. In this case, two stores down from U.N.
