Khurshid, Indian Cinema Star
Khursheed Bano was a prominent actress and singer in Bollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. Born on April 14, 1914, she was a pioneer of Indian cinema.
B & W
Mr. V. G. Patel
The elder brother of Sardar Patel and also a formidable politician, he was often at odds with Gandhi and founded the Swaraj Party.
Chenar Bagh
An early postcard of Kashmir by R. E. Shorter, a little known photographer who would have competed with Fred Bremner as one of the first to publish postcards of the princely state. The white space below the image would have been used for the message.
Our Restless Neighbours The Pathans
Postcards of Pathans who inhabited the North West Frontier Province (NWFP, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bordering Afghanistan were often shown with their weapons, in poses that made them see dangerous.
A Model of Rajput Beauty
This card with its carefully arranged colorful stamps was postmarked March 16, 1911 in Egypt, and likely sent in an envelope to someone as there is no address on the back and likely was destined for a collector.
Late Motilal Nehru Day, Karachi
Motilal Nehru was the father of Jawaharlal Nehru, and a very popular politician during the early struggle for Independence, and twice President of the Indian National Congress.
Government House, Peshawar
Government House in Peshawar was completed in 1903, and has been expanded while keeping the same design since. The angle and style of photographs of Government Houses throughout the Raj were meant to assert the authority of the colonial regime.
Copper Statuette of a Dancing Girl, Mohenjodaro.
A less typical side view of the famous "dancing girl" of Mohenjo-daro, part of a packet of eighteen picture postcards of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro for Rs. 1 and two annas only, that might also be a reprint of the series in Pakistan from the 1950s.
Hindu Religious Beggar
A striking studio portrait in which the viewer's eyes are drawn by to subject's wide-open gaze. Was he asked not to blink? Or did the photographer amend the negative?
A Marwaree Woman
One can imagine that the textiles worn by the woman are vibrant with color, and the postcard could be spectacular hand-tinted, but the stripes still make for a billowing effect in black and white.
