St Paul's Cathedral - Calcutta (Kolkata) 1865

This photograph of St Paul's Cathedral in Calcutta was taken by Oscar Mallitte in 1865 to form part of an album entitled 'Photographs of India and Overland Route'. It shows a view of the cathedral looking across the Birjee Tank (water supply) on the south-east corner of the Maidan. The cathedral was designed in the Indo-Gothic style by William F Forbes. Forbes, a military engineer who was later promoted to Major General, was also responsible for the design of the old Calcutta Mint where he held the post of Mint Master for a time. Construction of the cathedral began in 1839, when the foundation stone was laid by Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta, and completed in 1847. The tall central spire and square tower beneath were inspired by a similar feature at the twelfth century cathedral in Canterbury, England. The upper portion of the tower, which originally reached a height of sixty-one metres, was destroyed in an earthquake in 1934.

From: British Library

Calcutta (Kolkata) Docks with the Swing-Bridge Gates at the Entrance to the Half-Tide Basin as seen from the River - 1891

Photograph taken in 1891 by an unknown photographer of the Calcutta Docks with the swing-bridge gates at the entrance to the half-tide basin as seen from the river. The Calcutta Port is the only major riverine port in India and constitutes the Calcutta Dock System. In March 1884, the Secretary of State confirmed the adoption of the Kidderpore site for new docks. The entrance to the dock was to be through a tidal basin about 600 ft by 650 ft, and from the tidal basin to the river were two entrances, one 80 ft wide and the other 60 ft. In 1889-90, the tidal basin had been completed and brought into use, and dock number one was almost finished. The swing-bridges move on a central vertical pivot, allowing shipping to pass in and out of the half-tide basin which remains open for a few hours either side of high-tide.

From: British Library

Various Photographs of Eden Gardens Calcutta (Kolkata) - Mid 19th Century

Pagoda in Eden Gardens Calcutta (Kolkata)

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

Darjeeling Hill Railway under Construction on One of the Loops of the Railway, Probably at Rangtong - 1879

Photographer:Bourne and Shepherd
Source: British Library

The Rasmancha Temple, Bishnupur, Bankura District, Bengal - 1860-70's

Photographed in 1869
Photographer: Walter Campbell


Photographed in 1869
Photographer: Walter Campbell


Photographed in 1872
Photographer: Joseph David Beglar

The temples of Bishnupur were built under the Malla rulers of Bengal, fervent adherents of the Vaishnavite movement which flourished in the area from the fifteenth century onwards. The Rasa Mancha temple was built by the ruler Bir Hambir in the early seventeenth century. The temple is not dedicated to a particular deity but every year all the images of the gods are brought there during the Ras festival. Standing on a high plinth, the temple is unique in the sub-continent in its architectural form and style. It has a central square chamber surrounded on all sides by three tiered gallery arcades and roofed with an impressive pyramical structure. No inscriptions survive.

Bengali Hindu Women in Prison in Alipur (Now in West Bengal, Kolkata) - c1856

Credit: Robert Schlagintweit
Source: http://www.payer.de

View of Observatory Hill in Darjeeling Showing Habitations and Other Buildings - Bourne and Shepherd

Source: http://photography.si.edu

Great Banyan Tree at Botanical Gardens in Howrah near Calcutta (Kolkata)

Source: http://photography.si.edu

Bengal group Bathing at Kali Ghat Near Boats on River And Ashore, Suspension Bridge in Distance - Samuel Bourne 1863

Source: http://photography.si.edu

Great Banyan Tree at Botanical Gardens in Howrah

Source: http://photography.si.edu

Strand Road Showing Group in Costume with Bullock Carts and Horse-Drawn Carriages, Sailing Ships and Other Boats On Hooghly River - Calcutta (Kolkata)

Source: http://photography.si.edu

Vintage Postcard - Suberbs of Calcutta (Kolkata) India - 1920s

Source: ebay

Calcutta (Kolkata) - The Old Howrah Bridge - 1912

Source: ebay

Porters, North Bengal - c1856

Credit: Robert Schlagintweit

Source: http://www.payer.de

Tiger Hill, Darjeeling, Bengal - Date Unknown

Source: Ebay Seller stamps_postals

Portrait of a Man of the Kochh Mandai Tribe Holding a Thick-Bladed Agricultural Knife - Eastern Bengal 1860's

The exact location of this tribe's origin is unknown. At the time of this photograph they inhabited tracts of jungle to the north of Dacca in eastern Bengal or modern Bangladesh.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

Portrait of Two Women - Eastern Bengal 1860's

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

Five Men of Unidentified Ethnic Group from Eastern Bengal - 1860's

Source: British Library (bl.uk)

Portrait of a Religious Mendicant (Darwesh / Dervish) from Eastern Bengal - 1860's

This photograph shows a dervish of the Sufi Chishti order. Sufis are devotees of the mystical branch of Islam. In this case the man is a follower of the Indian saint Muin-u'd-din Chishti, whose shrine in Ajmer remains a popular pilgrimage centre today.
Source: British Library

Group of Men probably from Agricultural Castes - Eastern Bengal 1860's

Source: British Library