Elephant hunting tiger [handwritten]
A hand painted postcard of a favorite sport for Indian Maharajahs, British colonial officials and well-heeled tourists.
A hand painted postcard of a favorite sport for Indian Maharajahs, British colonial officials and well-heeled tourists.
This real photo postcard has a "Copyright, Made in Germany" imprint on the back, which was likely printed in India on German postcard-size paper. The watercolor and glitter treatment could also have been done in-house.
Possibly a dancer in a nicely hand-tinted postcard; note the red tip of the plant pointing to the lady.
There are very few Dutch postcards, let alone early ones, of India, but this is a splendid exception.
The Times of India building is opposite Victoria Terminus in the heart of Mumbai. The Times of India (TOI), owned by the Indian firm Bennett, Coleman & Co.
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.
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."
A lovely character sketch by the artist M.V. Dhurandhar of a carriage driver in turn of the century Bombay.