Various Photographs of Rock Fort Temple Complex in Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu - 19th Century

Tiruchirapalli is situated on the River Kaveri in Tamil Nadu, India. The town has been a stronghold of various ruling dynasties like Pallavas, Cholas, Nayakas and later occupied by the British. The town is dominated by the Rock Fort, a massive sand-coloured rock which towers to a height of over 80 metres. The Pallavas were the first to exploit the rock, building temples into its side, but it was the Nayakas of Madurai who realised the site's potential as a fort adding only a few walls and bastions as fortifications in the 17th century. They firmly established Tiruchirapalli as an important trading city.

 The Rock is about 84 m high (273 feet) and its summit, crowned by a modern Ganesha temple (Ucchi Pillaiyar Koil), can be reached by means of 437 steep steps. The Nayakas of Madurai realised its strategic position and built the Rock Fort in the 17th century. The last major battle here was fought during the Anglo-French wars of the Carnatic in the 18th century. Carved into the southern face of the Rock are cave temples dating from the time of the Pallava king Mahendravarman I (reigned 570-630) and the Pandya period (8th century). At the west face is the 17th century Thayumanaswamy temple dedicated to Shiva, where the lingam is a natural rock projection.

Know more about this historic place in Wikipedia.

Date: 1895

Photographer: Nicholas and Company

Date: 1858
Photographer: Linnaeus Tripe

Date: 1868
Photographer: Edmund David Lyon

Date: 1869
Photographer: Samuel Bourne

Date: 1880
Photographer: Nicholas and Company

Source: British Library

Eden Gardens in Calcutta (Kolkata) - Late 19th Century

Credit: James Kerr ( pumpparkphotos.com )

Sikh Prince with Group - 19th Century

Source: Ebay Seller allegory003

Hindu Groom and his Child Bride - 19th Century

Credit: Saleni (Armstrong) Hopkins
Source: http://www.payer.de

Bombay (Mumbai) from Watson's Hotel - 19th Century photograph

Date: Between 1850s to 1870s
Whole Plate Albumen Print from Wet Collodion Glass Negative
Maker: Francis Frith
Source: http://collections.vam.ac.uk

View from Watson's Hotel Bombay (Mumbai) - 19th Century Photograph

Date: Between 1850s to 1870s
Whole Plate Albumen Print from Wet Collodion Glass Negative
Maker: Francis Frith
Source: http://collections.vam.ac.uk

The Gaekwar of Baroda - Late 19th Century Photograph

Photographer: Deen Dayal
Source: ebay

The Maharaja of Holkar of Indore - Late 19th Century Photograph

Photographer: Deen Dayal

Source: ebay

The Majaraja of Jaipur - Late 19th Century Photograph

Photographer: Deen Dayal

Source: ebay

The Raj Sahib of Dhrangadhra - Late 19th Century Photograph

Source: ebay

Afridi Soldiers from Khyber Pass - c1860-90's

Credit: James Kerr ( pumpparkphotos.com )

Principal Street of Peshawar - c1860-90's

Credit: James Kerr ( pumpparkphotos.com )

Krishnabhabini Dasi Datta, the Wife of Jay Gopal Mallik - Calcutta (Kolkata) Late 19th Century

I received this photograph from Mr. Christopher Graffius ( christopher.graffius@yahoo.co.uk ) with the following note:


I believe the lady is Krishnabhabini Dasi Datta, the wife of Jay Gopal Mallik, my great, great grandfather. Jay Gopal died in 1859 and would have been born in the early 1830's. I don't have dates for Krishnabhabini.

The interesting thing about the picture is that it may be of a widow. I think it was highly unusual in the late 19th century for a wife from a good Hindu family to be photographed, let alone a widow - who by custom would have led a very withdrawn life. In the edition of "Bengal Past and Present" which deals with my Indian family (July-December 1979) it says that "The Dutts (another version of Datta - of Wellington Square, Calcutta) had a pioneering role in female education" and again "Jaygopal's second marriage to Krishnabhabini Dutt proved to be a turning point in the history of the Basu Malliks. She brought in the influence of new and dynamic ideas into a traditional setting. The Wellington Square Dutt family had become a name which was "a synonym for culture and hearty recognition of literary merit. Foreign scholars visiting Calcutta made their acquaintance and cultivated their company. Even women in the family wrote for pleasure and publication. Conserving the best in their own tradition they were at the same time receptive to Western ideas and education."

It was to Wellington Square, within walking distance of the Dutts, that the Mallik brothers - Probodh, Manmatha (my great grandfather) and Hem - moved when they left the paternal house in Pataldanga and established a more European style house in 1859. The Dutts and Malliks were deeply involved in the early years of the Indian independence movement.

The Railway Bridge on River Yamuna - Delhi, Mid 19th Century

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Photographer: Francis Frith
Albumen photographic print

Mughal Emperor Humayun's Tomb - Delhi, Mid 19th Century

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Photographer: Francis Frith
Date: Between 1850s to 1870s
Whole-plate albumen print from wet collodion glass negative

Tomb of Shams-ud-din Iltutmish in the Qutb complex, Delhi - Mid 19th Century

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Photographer: Francis Frith
Date: Between 1850s to 1870s
Whole-plate albumen print from wet collodion glass negative

Institute, Delhi - Mid 19th Century

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Photographer: Francis Frith
Date: Between 1850s to 1870s
Whole-plate albumen print from wet collodion glass negative

Ashoka Piller at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi - Mid 19th Century

The Feroz Shah Kotla was a fortress built by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C. rises from the palace's crumbling remains, one of many pillars of Ashoka left by the Mauryan emperor; it was moved from Pong Ghati Ambala, Punjab (currently in Haryana) to Delhi under orders of Firoz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi Sultanate, and re-erected in its present location in 1356. 

Know more in Wikipedia

 

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Photographer: Francis Frith
Date: Between 1850s to 1870s

Lord Hardinge's Statue Calcutta (Kolkata) - Mid 19th Century

Photographer: Francis Frith

Date: Between 1850s to 1870s

Whole-plate albumen print from wet collodion glass negative

Albumen Photograph of the Kaiser Pasand Palace - Lucknow 1880's

Source: ebay