Woman standing outside a house, possibly a member of domestic staff.

Unknown location,
possibly in Darjeeling or north Bengal.RCAHMS

Indian Men, possibly domestic servants, outside a building. Unknown location.RCAHMS

Interior view of office in Madras, India.RCAHMS

View of group of people at an unknown location in India.RCAHMS

A group of British tennis players photographed in India about 100 years ago.RCAHMS

Buildings on south east side of the Lal Dighi (BBD Bagh, formerly Dalhousie Square), Kolkata
lit at night for the 1912 British royal visit.RCAHMS

Riverside scene with bathers, looking north from Chatulal's Ghat towards Ram Chandra
Goenka's Zenana (ladies) ghat, Kolkata.RCAHMS

Group gathered around sweet seller on the Maidan, Kolkata. The group includes non Bengalis,
possibly visiting for a festival.RCAHMS

Jain Temple complex, Kolkata.RCAHMS

Group of women and children, probably on the Maidan, Kolkata. The group may be pilgrims
from outside Bengal.RCAHMS

Fishing boat on the Hooghly River in Kolkata.RCAHMS

Riverbank with bathers and ship, probably from Chandpal Ghat, Kolkata.RCAHMS

Probable pilgrim with cow and calf, Kolkata. The High Court is visible in the
background.RCAHMS

Riverside scene with bathers, Chandpal Ghat, Kolkata. Bathers reached the river through tunnels
under the railway line.RCAHMS

Riverside scene with bathers, Chandpal Ghat, Kolkata. Bathers reached the river through tunnels
under the railway line.RCAHMS

Seated group of sadhus at Chandpal Ghat, Kolkata.RCAHMS

Group seated in two ferry canoes moored in stream. Unknown location.RCAHMS

Waterside with washer man and washing lines at a dhobi ghat. Unknown location.RCAHMS

Group of washer men at a dhobi ghat. Unknown location.RCAHMS

Street hairdresser giving a 'Hindustani haircut' (pudding bowl), Strand Road South, Kolkata. The
High Court is in the left distance, the building behind could be the Volunteer HQ.RCAHMS

General Post Office (R) from across the Lal Dighi tank, Kolkata. The scaffolding could be for the
lighting celebrating the British royal visit in 1912; and pictured left is Telegraph Office,
Kolkata.RCAHMS

Days of the Raj: Huge collection of photographs depicting life in India a century
ago are found in a shoebox

178 plate-glass negatives discovered inside a size-nine Peter Lord box in Edinburgh
Some images were taken in 1912, archivists confirm
Unknown photographer may have been British civil servant in Calcutta
By NICK ENOCH
PUBLISHED: 15:41 GMT, 7 May 2012 | UPDATED: 22:29 GMT, 9 May 2012

184
View comments
A tennis party pose among tea trolleys: full-length dresses and sun hats for the ladies; shirt-sleeve order, neat
moustaches and optional pipe for the men.
This is just one of many photographs showing life in India at least a century ago - and they were all found in a
shoebox.
One image shows buildings in the city of Calcutta lit up over the Lal Dighi body of water, commemorating a British
royal visit, while another depicts ships arriving at the Chandpal Ghat, the main landing site for visitors to the city along
the Hooghly River.
All 178 of the plate-glass negatives were found inside a size-nine Peter Lord shoebox by the Royal Commission on
the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in Edinburgh.

A tennis party poses (one, far right, with a pipe) among tea trolleys in this photo taken in India around a century ago

Two men stick dance in front of a crowd in Maidan, Calcutta. The dance represents a mock fight between legendary warrior Durga and the
mighty demon king Mahishasura

Buildings on the south-east side of Lal Dighi, Calcutta, lit at night for the 1912 British royal visit by King George V and Queen Mary. All 178
images were found in a Peter Lord shoebox in Edinburgh and are about 100 years old

Archivists have confirmed some of the images were definitely taken in 1912, when the royals visited. It was the only trip by a British monarch
to India as Emperor of the subcontinent

King George V and the Queen arrive in Delhi in 1911

They are said to have been taken in the country at the time of the British Raj and it is thought the negatives were
untouched for almost 100 years.
Archivists at RCAHMS have already confirmed that some of the images were definitely taken in 1912, when King
George V and Queen Mary visited Calcutta. It was the only visit by a British monarch to India as Emperor of the
subcontinent.

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Some of the photographs show the city's buildings lit up at night in tribute to the royal visit.
Little else is known about the images and the photographer, prompting a search for clues as to his or her identity.
One theory is that the photographer was a British civil servant in Calcutta, or was connected to the jute trade, as
many Scots were said to be at the time.
There is a Scottish cemetery in the city that dates back to the time of the British Raj, which has recently been cleaned
up and recorded.
RCAHMS hopes that members of the public and photography enthusiasts might be able to shed more light on this
discovery.

An unknown man and woman pose for the camera. The images - all plate-glass negatives - were discovered by the Royal Commission on
the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in Edinburgh

A crowded riverside with bathers at Chandpal Ghat in Calcutta, the main landing site for visitors to the city along the Hooghly River

A street scene in an unknown location, capturing life in India at least a century ago

They also approached John Falconer, curator of photographs at the British Library, who helped to identify some of the
locations and remarked on the high quality and beauty of the images, but so far the identity of the photographer
remains a mystery.
Claire Sorensen, RCAHMS architectural historian, said: 'We don't know for sure how they came to be in our collection
because we receive archive material from countless different sources, ranging from the archives kept by architectural
practices to generous public donations.
'Sometimes we take in large amounts of material at once, and often documentation for historical deposits does not
exist.

Ships arriving at Chandpal Ghat, while crowds gather by the docks

A Jain temple complex in Calcutta. RCAHMS hopes that members of the public and photography enthusiasts might be able to shed more
light on the photographic discovery

A street hairdresser giving a 'Hindustani haircut' (pudding bowl) in Strand Road South, Calcutta

Celebrations for the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Calcutta in 1912

'Over time, all this new material will be inspected and catalogued as part of our collection - undergoing conservation
work where necessary - and then made available to the public.
'It's fantastic that a small shoe box contained such a treasure-trove of photographic imagery, but in some ways it's not
unusual.
'Our experience as an archive has shown us that some of the most interesting discoveries can be made in the most
unlikely of places.'

A Muhurram (sacred month) procession through a crowded Calcutta street with tazieh theatre performance in the background. Tazieh drama
re-enacts heroic tales of love and sacrifice
Enlarge

Enlarge

Calcutta is lit up for the royal visit; right, a group seated in two ferry canoes moored in a stream at an unknown location

Waterside with a group of washermen at a dhobi ghat (open-air laundry zone)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140759/Days-Raj-Huge-collection-photographs-showing-life-India-century-agoshoebox.html#ixzz3haWBZd3U

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