Studio portrait of three Parsees and a Parbhu, Bombay

Portrait of three Parsees and a Parbhu, taken by Hurrichund Chintamon, c. 1867. This photograph was commissioned by the Government of India for the Archaelogical Survey of India and was on show in the Paris Exhibition of 1867.

The group in this view are seated around a small table on which are placed books and writing implements, emphasising their intellectual interests and attainments. The Parsees, or Parsis, are descendants of Persians who fled to India in the seventh and eighth centuries to escape Muslim persecution. The Parsees practice Zorastrianism and their communities are concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat states, especially in Bombay. The Parsis are often described as fire-worshippers but they do not worship fire, instead they revere many aspects of nature as manifestations of the divinity of Ahura Mazdah. The Parbhu (Prabhu) is the man second from the right. The Prabhus were one of the oldest Mumbai communities, originally from Gujarat (north-west India) and the neighbouring areas. Most are Shaivas but some also worship Rama and Krishna. The common occupation of Prabhus was that of a clerk but some attained important posts in Government.

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Class with mistress in vernacular girls' school, Bombay, Maharashtra

Photograph of a class in the vernacular girls' school at Bombay in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c.1873. This image, showing the class grouped on benches around the teacher, was exhibited at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873 and is mentioned in John Forbes Watson's catalogue for the Indian Department. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century and vernacular education (in the local language) was considered a special obligation for the Government from 1854 when it was declared a concern by the Court of Directors. The vernacular course covered both primary and secondary education and was carried out in many different types of establishment depending on the resources of the area. In Bombay, for example, the complete course of vernacular education was delivered at primary school. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states, "The type of primary school varies from the primitive pathshala or maktab to the modern institutions in which the pupils are educated in accordance with approved European methods. The Bombay local rates schools are in general better built, equipped, and managed than the Bengal indigenous institutions."

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Group of mistress and pupils of the Government Normal School, Bombay

Photograph of a group posed in front of the Government Normal School at Bombay, in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1873. This image, which was probably shown at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, shows the European mistress seated in the centre of a group of ten female pupils. Normal schools trained teachers and The Imperial Gazetteer of India states, "In the case of primary teachers and the lower masters of secondary schools the courses of study and the examinations are organized by the Local Governments, and central and District schools are maintained for their instruction by the Government, and in some cases by local boards and missionary societies...Stipends are frequently given to the pupils, who then bind themselves to teach for a specified period. The courses include general and technical subjects and practical training." The number of female Normal schools increased greatly after 1871 in response to the growth in female primary and secondary education in India.

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Bookbinders, paging and ruling men of the Times of India

Print by E.O.S. and Company of employees of the Times of India, Mumbai, taken on the occasion of the newspaper's Diamond Jubilee (60 years), November 1898. The album contains the text of an address read at the Jubilee celebrations by F.A. Periera, Chief Clerk of the Job Department dedicated to the editor T.J. Bennett and the managing proprietor F.M. Coleman. It includes the following extract, "There has been a steady increase in the number of workmen from 200 to about 800. In type, presses, machines, binery and casting materials the establishment has so much increased that it is second to none in India. The paper is so ably conducted that we might say, with pardonable pride, that it has become a power in the Empire. It's circulation has immensely increased, and there is hardly any city in India in which it is not read, and it also has a large circulation in Europe." The Times of India is still one of India's leading newspapers.

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Group of pupils of the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution, Bombay

Photograph of a group of pupils from the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution at Bombay in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1873. This image was probably exhibited at the Vienna Universal Exhibition of the same year. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states regarding female education, "The Government did not take up the subject until 1849, when Lord Dalhousie informed the Bengal Council of Education that henceforth its functions were to embrace female education, and the first girls' school recognized by Government was founded shortly afterwards by a committee of native gentlemen. The despatch of of 1854 directed that female education should receive the frank and cordial support of Government...The Education Commission of 1882 advised that female education should receive special encouragement and special liberality...The adoption of this attitude has resulted in a considerable development of the public instruction of girls, although it still lags far behind that of their brothers. In 1871 there were 134 secondary and 1,760 primary girls' schools; in 1901-2 the numbers were 461 and 5,628 respectively."

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Group of pupils of the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution, Bombay

Photograph of a group of pupils from the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution at Bombay in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1873. This image was probably exhibited at the Vienna Universal Exhibition of that year. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states regarding female education, "The Government did not take up the subject until 1849, when Lord Dalhousie informed the Bengal Council of Education that henceforth its functions were to embrace female education, and the first girls' school recognized by Government was founded shortly afterwards by a committee of native gentlemen. The despatch of of 1854 directed that female education should receive the frank and cordial support of Government...The Education Commission of 1882 advised that female education should receive special encouragement and special liberality...The adoption of this attitude has resulted in a considerable development of the public instruction of girls, although it still lags far behind that of their brothers. In 1871 there were 134 secondary and 1,760 primary girls' schools; in 1901-2 the numbers were 461 and 5,628 respectively."

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Class with mistress in a mofussil or up-country girls' school, Bombay

Photograph of a girls' school at Bombay in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c.1873. This image of a class grouped on benches around the teacher was shown at the Vienna Exhibition of that same year. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states regarding female education, "The Government did not take up the subject until 1849, when Lord Dalhousie informed the Bengal Council of Education that henceforth its functions were to embrace female education, and the first girls' school recognized by Government was founded shortly afterwards by a committee of native gentlemen. The despatch of of 1854 directed that female education should receive the frank and cordial support of Government...The Education Commission of 1882 advised that female education should receive special encouragement and special liberality...The adoption of this attitude has resulted in a considerable development of the public instruction of girls, although it still lags far behind that of their brothers. In 1871 there were 134 secondary and 1,760 primary girls' schools; in 1901-2 the numbers were 461 and 5,628 respectively."

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Grain sellers shop, Bombay

Photograph of a grain sellers (Banya's) shop at Bombay in Maharashtra, taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1873, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. This image, of merchants seated among wicker baskets of grain in front of their shop, was probably shown at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873. The accompanying text to this image, or a similar one, printed in John Forbes Watson's catalogue to the exhibition, states, "Bunneas are universal all over India. They are the hucksters or small traders of the people. A Bunnea's shop or stall contains meal and fine flour of wheat, with sogie or semoline, meal of millets and different kinds of pulse, rice, split peas, and pulse of many kinds; for all these are used in the farinaceous diet of the people , which is almost universal. He sells also parched rice and peas, gram, or horse corn, and generally every article of food, except vegetables and meat, with which he has no concern. Besides these he has condiments, salt, chillies, black pepper, green and dry ginger, and garlic (but not onions)...He has also a small store of spices - cassia, cardomoms, cloves, and mace; sugar, too, of various kinds; goor, or molasses; and, in some instances, sweetmeats...In short, the Bunnea is grocer and purveyor in general in every village and town in India. The Bunneas also lend money". After photography was introduced into India in the 1840s it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly as a means to record the vast diversity of people and their dress, manners, trades, customs and religions.

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Brahmin group, Bombay

Studio portrait of six Brahmins, or priests, in Mumbai, taken by Hurrichund Chintamon in the 1860s. This photograph is from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections; one of a series of ethnographical photographs commissioned by the Government of India in the late 19th century to gather information about the people and monuments of India. Material was submitted by both professional and amateur photographers. Ethnographical prints were also produced by large photographic firms and temporary studios in India to meet European demands for souvenirs from the East and in response the rising interest in ethnography. Brahmins are the highest of the four Hindu castes.

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Class in the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution, Bombay - Ancient Photo

Photograph of a class in the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution at Bombay in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c.1873. This image, showing a class of pupils seated in a semi-circle around a globe was exhibited at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, and is mentioned on page 224 of John Forbes Watson's catalogue of the Indian Department. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states regarding female education, "The Government did not take up the subject until 1849, when Lord Dalhousie informed the Bengal Council of Education that henceforth its functions were to embrace female education, and the first girls' school recognized by Government was founded shortly afterwards by a committee of native gentlemen. The despatch of of 1854 directed that female education should receive the frank and cordial support of Government...The Education Commission of 1882 advised that female education should receive special encouragement and special liberality...The adoption of this attitude has resulted in a considerable development of the public instruction of girls, although it still lags far behind that of their brothers. In 1871 there were 134 secondary and 1,760 primary girls' schools; in 1901-2 the numbers were 461 and 5,628 respectively."

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Studio portrait of two Maratha youths from Akalkot, at Bombay

Full-length portrait of two young men, seated on either side of an occasional table, taken by Hurrichund Chintamon and exhibited in the Paris Exhibition of 1867. This photograph is part of the Archaeological Survey of India. Both men are wearing the characteristic elaborate turban of the Akalkot Marathas, the princely and military order of the former Hindu kingdom of Maharastra in central India (now in the modern state of Maharashtra).

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Full-length standing portrait of Manickjee Antarya, the celebrated Parsee traveller, Bombay

Studio portrait of the celebrated Parsee traveller Manickjee Antarya in Bombay, posed against a painted backdrop of a rustic scene. This photograph was taken by Hurrichund Chintamon and is one of a series of Ethnographical images from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, shown at the Paris Exhibition in 1867. Parsees are followers of Zoroaster, and descendants of Persians who fled to India in the seventh and eighth centuries to escape Muslim persecution.

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Dharamsala for Persians, Bombay

Photograph of a Dharmashala in Bombay (Mumbai) from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series, taken by an unknown photographer, c. 1870. Dharmashalas were rest houses for pilgrims, built by philanthropists and maintained from endowments provided by the founders. They offered cheap accommodation for travellers and some were rigidly restricted to the use of certain classes or castes.

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A Peon (Bombay)

Full-length standing carte-de-visite portrait of a peon, or messenger holding a letter, or note, one of a series of prints of ethnic types and occupations taken by Bourne and Shepherd in the early 1870s. The word 'peon' is derived from the Portuguese word peao; from pe, 'foot' and meaning a 'footman'. It was originally used in the sense of a 'foot-soldier' and later as 'orderly' or messenger. It is still a commonly used term in India.

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Bombay, police with shield

A policeman directs traffic in Bombay streets. He has a large umbrella as protection against the sun .. The picture is from a series of photographs taken on a journey described in the album, "Istanbul, Turkey-Iran-Iraq-India-Ceylon"

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Studio portrait of a group of Parsee ladies, Bombay

Seven Parsee women, grouped around a table, taken by an unknown photographer in the 1860s, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. The Parsees were descendants of Persians who fled to India in the seventh and eighth centuries to escape Muslim persecution. They are Zoroastrian, the religious system commonly known as fire-worship. Their communities are concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat states, especially in Bombay.

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Persian group, Bombay

Studio portrait of two Persian men and four children taken in Bombay by Hurrichund Chintamon and exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1867. This photograph is from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. It was one of a series of ethnographical photographs commissioned by the Government of India in the 1860s in order to gather information about the tribes, races and castes of the sub-continent. Hurrichund Chintamon began one of the first photographic firms in Bombay (1858-81).

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Studio portrait of Gosavis, Bombay

Photograph of a group of men and youths of the Gosavi caste, posed against a painted studio backdrop, taken by Hurrichund Chintamon. This photograph is from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, and was shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1867. It is one of a series of ethnographical photographs commissioned by the Government of India in order to gather information about the different racial groups on the sub-continent in the late 19th century.

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The Punt Pratinidhi of Satara (a Brahmin)

A portrait of the Punt Pratinidhi of Satara, seated with his servants, taken by Hurrichund Chintamon c. 1867, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. This photograph was exhibited in the Paris Exhibition of 1867. Punt Pratinidhi was a Brahmin, the priestly caste of the Hindus and the uppermost caste of society. Both British and Indian photographers assisted the archaeological survey. Chintamon was an Indian photographer who made a notable contribution to the book 'The People of India', published by the India Museum in 1868-75. After photography was introduced into India in the 1840s it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly as a means to record the vast diversity of people and their dress, manners, trades, customs and religions. Ethnographical prints were produced by large photographic firms operating in India as well as by smaller or temporary studios to meet European demands for souvenirs from the East. Figures, like those in this image, were often posed to display their characteristic attributes and artefacts. Chintamon set up the first photographic firm in Bombay.

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Full-length studio portrait of the son of H.H. Chunnasee Rajoonath Pant

Portrait of the son of H.H. Chunnasee Rajoonath Pant by Bourne and Shepherd in the late 1860s, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. The youth in this photograph is holding a sword, leaning a against a banister rail beside a sculptural ornament of a horse and archer. The photographic firm Bourne and Shepherd began in Simla in the 1860s before branches were established in Calcutta and Bombay. Simla was the most important of the hill-stations in both social and political terms, and was therefore a strategic place to work as a photographer.

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