The People of India - The Races and Tribes of Hindustan - 1868 - Part IV

The people of India : A series of photographic illustrations, with descriptive letterpress, of the races and tribes of Hindustan, originally prepared under the authority of the government of India, and reproduced. by J. Forbes Watson and John William Kaye between 1868 - 1875.

Tibetan Buddhist, Tibet

Munipooree female, Himalayan origin, Munipoor

Meech, (Trans-Himalayan origin), Darjeeling

Lepcha, aboriginal, Sikhim. [male]

Lepcha, aboriginal, Sikhim. [female]

Lepcha water carriers, aboriginal, Sikhim

Lepcha peasants, aboriginal, Sikhim

Lepcha female, aboriginal, Sikhim

Lama (Buddhist priest), Tibetan, Pemianchi

Kookie, robber tribes, Cachar

Interpreter at Darjeeling, Tibetan, Bhotan

Group of Nagas, marauding tribe, Cachar

Group of Bhotanese, chiefly of Tibetan origin

Cheboo Lama, Minister of Sikhim, Tibetan, Sikhi

Bhotia, trans-Himalayan, Sikhim

Bhotia, Buddhist, Tibet

Bhotia female, trans-Himalayan, Sikhim

Bhotia female, Buddhist, near Lhassa, Tibet

Bhotanese, chiefly of Tibetan origin, Bhotan

Taj Mahal in 1860s

These two images probably the oldest photographs of Tajmahal. Photograph taken by Samuel Bourne in the 1860s. Images taken from Wikipedia.

A view of a busy street in Calcutta (Kolkata) - December 1970

A view of a busy street in Calcutta (Kolkata) - December 1970
Photographer:Larry Burrows

Bombay (Mumbai) Green of 1862

Photograph of The Green in Bombay (Mumbai), Maharashtra, by an unknown photographer, from an album of 40 prints taken in the 1860s. Bombay Green was the spacious open sward near the Bombay Fort and with the Town Hall and other important buildings sited in its vicinity, it was the city's commercial and social centre in the early 19th century. The view looks across the Green, with the Cornwallis Monument in the centre and the tower of St Thomas' Cathedral in the right background. The busy port and industrial hub of Bombay is the capital of Maharashtra. During British rule, it was the administrative capital of the Bombay Presidency. Extending over a peninsula into the Arabian Sea on the west coast of India, Bombay prospered with maritime trade and became the chief commercial centre of the Arabian Sea.

Afghan Memorial, Colaba Church, Bombay (Mumbai) 1890s

Photograph of the interior of the Afghan Memorial Church of St. John the Baptist in Bombay, from the Macnabb Collection (Col James Henry Erskine Reid): Album of Indian views, taken c.1880-90. The church was designed by the town engineer, Henry Conybeare and completed by Captain Tremenheere between 1847 and 1858. The style is early English and was influenced by the new principals of Gothic architecture. Many of the fittings were made by the Bombay School of Art.

General view of Bombay (Mumbai) 1881

Photograph of Bombay from the Macnabb Collection (Col James Henry Erskine Reid): Album of Miscellaneous views, taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s.The harbour, busy with port traffic can be seen beyond the town and there are faint views of the islands off the coast in the distance. The busy port and industrial hub of Bombay is the capital of Maharashtra. During British rule, it was the administrative capital of the Bombay Presidency. Extending over a peninsula into the Arabian Sea on the west coast of India, Bombay prospered with maritime trade and became the chief commercial centre of the Arabian Sea. Originally a collection of fishing villages of the Koli community built on seven islands, Bombay was by the 14th century controlled by the Gujarat Sultanate who ceded it to the Portuguese in the 16th century. In 1661 it was part of the dowry brought to Charles II of England when he married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza. By the 19th century, the British were in control of India and they embarked on a programme of building commensurate with their power and primacy. Bombay burgeoned over the decades and boasted a skyscape of colonial architecture.