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Homenb-develop-admin2026-07-18T17:43:18+05:30
pi-blog-author2026-11-11T22:46:59+05:30
Passengers boarding the Handley Page HP-9 aircraft for sightseeing flights over Calcutta, circa 1920
British Era Biplane: Beginning of Commercial Aviation in India, 1920
Gallery

British Era Biplane: Beginning of Commercial Aviation in India, 1920

British Era Biplane: Beginning of Commercial Aviation in India, 1920

Old India Prints, Other India Prints

British Era Biplane: The Beginning of Commercial Aviation in India, 1920 Newspaper Page  A remarkably rare 1920 newspaper page from [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-11-09T11:42:29+05:30
Two books on renowned Indian modernist painter Manjit Bawa, featuring his figurative paintings and distinctive use of vibrant colours.
2 Books On Manjit Bawa: Manjit Bawa & Let’s Paint the Sky Red
Gallery

2 Books On Manjit Bawa: Manjit Bawa & Let’s Paint the Sky Red

2 Books On Manjit Bawa: Manjit Bawa & Let’s Paint the Sky Red

Art & Raja Ravi Varma Collection

2 Books on Indian Artist Manjit Bawa: Manjit Bawa & Let's Paint the Sky Red Titles - 1. Manjit Bawa- [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-11-04T17:44:18+05:30
1939 Great Men of India illustrated book edited by L. F. Rushbrook Williams, featuring biographies of notable Indian personalities.
Great Men of India – 1939 Times Of India Book On Famous Indians
Gallery

Great Men of India – 1939 Times Of India Book On Famous Indians

Great Men of India – 1939 Times Of India Book On Famous Indians

Books & Publications, More

Great Men of India - 1939 Times Of India Book On Famous Indians Title: Great Men of India Editor: L. [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-10-29T20:26:26+05:30
1810 engraving of Qutub Minar in Delhi showing the historic tower in a weathered, overgrown condition.
Delhi’s Qutub Minar in Ruins During the 19th Century, 1810 Print
Gallery

Delhi’s Qutub Minar in Ruins During the 19th Century, 1810 Print

Delhi’s Qutub Minar in Ruins During the 19th Century, 1810 Print

Old India Prints, Other India Prints

Delhi’s Qutub Minar in Ruins During the 19th Century, 1810 Print This unusual and rare 1810 engraved print captures Delhi's [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-10-30T05:09:27+05:30
A 1943 wartime Bombay street scene featuring an American serviceman and a double-decker electric tram displaying a Chandrika Brahmi Oil advertisement.
WWII Bombay: American Soldiers & Double-Decker Tram, 1943
Gallery

WWII Bombay: American Soldiers & Double-Decker Tram, 1943

WWII Bombay: American Soldiers & Double-Decker Tram, 1943

Bombay Photos, Old India Photos

WWII Bombay: American Soldiers & Double-Decker Tram, 1943 Photo A 1943 photograph offers a glimpse of a Bombay (Mumbai) street [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-10-25T23:10:27+05:30
Vintage photograph of Victoria Memorial in Calcutta around 1921, with a line of open-top motorcars passing the entrance arch and an artillery field gun on the grounds.
Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, Before Its Grand Opening, 1921 Photo
Gallery

Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, Before Its Grand Opening, 1921 Photo

Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, Before Its Grand Opening, 1921 Photo

Calcutta Photos, Old India Photos

Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, Before Its Grand Opening, 1921 Photo A 1921 photograph captures a flurry of activities on the path [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-10-22T03:56:56+05:30
Vintage postcard of Bombay's BMC building around 1914, with an early motorcar, horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians and a distant electric tram.
Bombay Traffic In The 1910s: Motorcars, Trams & BMC Building
Gallery

Bombay Traffic In The 1910s: Motorcars, Trams & BMC Building

Bombay Traffic In The 1910s: Motorcars, Trams & BMC Building

Colonial Era Motor Cars, More

Bombay Traffic In The 1910s: Motorcars, Trams And The BMC Building This vintage postcard probably dates to around the 1910s. [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-10-21T18:55:46+05:30
1914 vintage map of Bangalore showing the British Cantonment, Pettah, Bangalore Fort, racecourse and historic lakes.
1914 Map of Bangalore: The British Era Cantonment Town
Gallery

1914 Map of Bangalore: The British Era Cantonment Town

1914 Map of Bangalore: The British Era Cantonment Town

Maps & Plans, More

1914 Map of Bangalore: The British Era Cantonment Town A rare 1914 vintage map of the British-era Cantonment Town of [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-10-19T16:38:16+05:30
Engraved portrait of David Sassoon, the influential nineteenth-century Baghdadi Jewish merchant and philanthropist of Bombay.
David Sassoon, The Jewish Tycoon Who Shaped Bombay, 1864
Gallery

David Sassoon, The Jewish Tycoon Who Shaped Bombay, 1864

David Sassoon, The Jewish Tycoon Who Shaped Bombay, 1864

Bombay Prints, Old India Prints

David Sassoon, The Jewish Tycoon Who Shaped Bombay, 1864 Print An 1864 French newspaper article on David Sassoon, who had [...]

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pi-blog-author2026-10-16T07:35:02+05:30
Antique history book on British India covering the East India Company, British conquest, colonial administration and the establishment of Crown rule.
British India By R W Frazer, 1916 Edition Book
Gallery

British India By R W Frazer, 1916 Edition Book

British India By R W Frazer, 1916 Edition Book

Books & Publications, More

British India By R W Frazer, 1916 Edition Book Title - British India Author - R W Frazer Publisher - [...]

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Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph 1894

past-india.com

This site illustrates a past India through a collection of antique and vintage mediums of Raja Ravi Varma oleographs, old India photos, old postcards, old paper prints, and so on.

Although the collection may or may not be too varied, but generally projects a glimpse to what India looked like in the past. And how it has evolved since then. Few would realize that once there were Trams in Bombay, Madras, Delhi…

That, Madras operated the first electric Tram in India from 1895 up to its closure in 1953. With Calcutta and Bombay starting off with Horse-Drawn Trams, later electrifying them by the early 1900s.

That, in World War II, they camouflaged the Taj Mahal with bamboo scaffoldings. So as to project it as a construction site that perhaps would fool any air attacks from the Germans and Japanese might, although this never happened. All in all, the jewel in this collection is the rare Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” oleograph or chromolithograph of 1894. This was the first oleograph to come out from the then newly opened Raja Ravi Varma Fine Arts Lithograph Press(or FAL press) in 1894.

The many legacies of the British Raj are not missed out in this collection. Many of the buildings and streets have gone through several makeovers to the extent of being unrecognizable today or have completely disappeared from the scene. But the memories are kept alive hopefully to some extent by this collection.

As they say- “seeing is believing.” Hope you enjoy this collection. Please write to us at- info@past-india.com

Popular & Rare

Handley Page Biplane: Early Commercial Aviation in India, 1920 Delhi’s Qutub Minar in Ruins During the 19th Century, 1810 Print The First International Airline Flight To India, 1926 Photo  History Of British East India Company In India, 1834 Magazine 1799 News Report On The 4th Anglo-Mysore War & Tipu’s Death 1905 Map of Bombay Islands During The Reclamation Era, c.1840 M G Road Bangalore: Spencer’s & Crystal Picture Palace In 1907 Rajibai Mulgaonkar: Model Behind Ravi Varma’s Paintings, 1900 The Earliest Known Photograph of Mount Everest, 1870 Photo 1939 Bangalore’s South Parade: Plaza Theater, Higginbotham’s Churchgate Railway Office Bombay, 1896 Architectural Print  Madras Harbour & Masula Boat During The British Era, 1899 PC India’s First Train Travel From Bombay To Thana In 1853, Photo The Bombay Back Bay Reclamation Scheme, 1920s Rare Prints View of Hornby Vellard From Cumballa Hill Bombay, 1890 Photo Sweeping Views Of Bombay From Malabar Hill, 2 Photos 1880 Calcutta Tramways Proposed Route Map of 1880 The Beautiful Marina & Senate House Madras, 1894 Photo Empress of India Saloon At Fort Bombay, 1886 Postcard Taj Mahal Disguised From Enemy Attack WWII, 1942 Photo The Beauty Of Kashmir In The 19th Century, 2 Photos 1890 Storming & Taking Bangalore By Marquis Cornwallis, 1800 Print Aerial View of Colaba, Oval Maidan & Back Bay Bombay, 1890 Siege Of Nandi Durg Fort By Cornwallis, 1792 Newspaper 19th Century Flora Fountain Bombay, 1890 Photo Magnificent View of Victoria Terminus & BMC Bombay, 1880 Photo First Steamer To Sail From England To India, 1900 Photo View of British Fort George & Castle Bombay, 1809 Print American Soldiers Victory Parade At Delhi WW2, 1944 Photo Smoking Concert At British Era Bombay Gymkhana In 1908, PC The Siege of Pondicherry By The British, 1760 Newspaper View of Gateway of India’s Apollo Bunder Bombay, 1890 Photo Mahim Railway Station Bombay, 1870 Photo Esplanade & Fort St George British Era Madras, 1872 Photo Panoramic View of 19th Century Calcutta, 1880 Photo First Line Beach British Era Madras, 1880 Photo Constructing The Gateway of India Bombay, 1923 Photo Kalbadevi & Horse Drawn Tram British Era Bombay, 1890 Photo Proposed Site of Rashtrapati Bhavan & Parliament Delhi, 1914 Scale Model of The Taj Mahal Hotel & Tower Bombay, 1971 Photo Boat Mail: Train & Steamer From India To Ceylon, 1890 Photo Map Of The Lands Of Tippoo Saheb (Tipu Sultan), 1792 Map View of Haji Ali & Worli From Mahalaxmi 19C Bombay, 1880 Photo Grant Road Railway Station British Era Bombay, 1870 Photo Hotel D’Angelis’ Parisian Garden Restaurant Madras, 1907 Photo Enchanting View of Girgaum, British Era Bombay, 1900 Photo Looking Towards Sea From Fort St George Madras, 1880 Photo Commercial Road In Ooty During British Era, 1930 Postcard Hotel Taj Mahal & Building The Gateway Of India Bombay, 1922 PC Raja Ravi Varma’s Inspiring Models – 2 Postcards 1900 Tipu Sultan’s Ceded Territories After His Defeat, 1800 Map Grand View of Victoria Terminus & BMC Bombay, 1895 Photo Early Aviation, First Flight From England To India, 1918 Print First Non-Stop Flight From England To India, 1929 Newspaper Clip Pamban Railway Bridge Washed Away By Cyclone, 1964 Photo Rare Glimpse of British East India Company Calcutta,1860 Photo British Era Madras Boat Club Regatta, Old Print 1909 Construction of India’s Parliament House Delhi, Old Print 1924 The Taj Mahal Disguised In WWII – 2 Photos 1942  Rare 1792 Newspaper Report On The Defeat of Tipu Sultan The Parisian Garden Of Hotel D’Angelis Madras, 1907 Photo End Of British Raj In India Last Battalion Parade, 1948 Print Scale Model of Queen Victoria Memorial Hall Calcutta, 1905 Print The First Viceroy To Arrive In India By Air, 1943 Photo Early Indian Aviation, Monoplane In Calcutta – 2 Photos 1913 Making of Bombay’s Famous Marine Drive, 1923 Photo Rare View of Delhi Electric Tram, Old Photo 1950 Calcutta To London Flight By Flying Boat, 1946 Print Overland Route To India Before Opening of Suez Canal, 1851 Map South Parade Road During British Era Bangalore, 1895 Photo Constructing Gateway Of India Bombay, 1922 Photo Origin Of The British East India Company, 1903 Print  Qutub Minar Showing The Basement, 1880 Photo Old Map of Madras Harbour In British Era 1884 Frere The Man Who Transformed Bombay, 1870 Photo Elephant Battles Lion Watercolour Sketch British India, 1837 Hot-Air Balloon Accident In British Era Bombay, 1891 Print Hiding The Taj Mahal In World War II – 2 Rare Old Photos 1942 Boat Mail Train Runs On The New Pamban Bridge, 3 Photos 1914 Early View Of Flora Fountain In 19th Century Bombay, 1880 Photo India’s Beginning Into Early Aviation, 1912 Print Inauguration Of Indian Airlines By Jawaharlal Nehru, 1953 Photo British Flag Flying Over Viceroy’s House Delhi,1931 Photo The New Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Bombay, 1903 Photo Delhi Durbar of 1877 In Honour of Queen Victoria, 1877 Photo Installation of Pamban Railway Bridge British India Era, 1914 Print Officer’s Mess House Inside Fort St George Madras, 1870 Photo Madras Gymkhana Club, 1905 Postcard The Stone Elephant Of Elephanta Island Bombay, 1850 Print The Inauguration Of New Delhi, 1931 Programme Card From England To India Through The Suez Canal, 1880 Photo Aerial View of Fort William & Hooghly Calcutta, 1930 Bombay Gymkhana And Cricket At Azad Maidan, 1900 Photo Glimpse of British Women In India, Photo 1887 British Restaurant At Pune, Old 1900 Postcard Bhageerathi, The Wife Of Raja Ravi Varma, 1870 Photo Darjeeling Toy Train, Old Stereo Photo 1908 War Biplane At Cochin Air Base WWII – 2 PCs 1942 British Women In Field Sports India, Photo 1890 Rare Glimpse of British Audience In Colonial Era India, 1880 Photo The Inauguration Day of New Delhi, 1931 Photo Flying Boat Biplanes During British India Era, 1930 Photo Nilgiri Mountain Railway: Steam Train’s Test Run, 1899 Photo Early Aviation Biplane In British India Era, 1913 Times of India The Newly Completed Gateway Of India Bombay, 1924 Photo Senate House Across The Cooum Madras, 1879 Photo First White Man To Climb The Taj Mahal, 1927 Photo  Cannon Accident Fort St George Madras, 1870 Print Viceroy’s Camp At The Delhi Durbar, Old Photo 1877 The First Airmails From India to England In 1929, Old Photo  Geoffrey Clarke Of First Airmail Flight in India 1911, Old Photo  Flying Boat Airline In British India Era, 2 Rare Clippings 1944 Elephanta Caves Mumbai British Era, Old Photo 1880 Electric Trams In Madras During British India Era, 1973 Print Construction of Umaid Bhavan Palace Jodhpur, 1936 Postcard Madras Central Railway Station Before Installing The Clocks, 1874 Chepauk Palace Chennai From The River, Old Photo 1880 Newly Completed Moore Market Madras, 1900 Postcard Esplanade & Madras Christian College, Old Photo 1877 Reclamation For The Gateway Of India Bombay, 1914 Photo Newly Completed Crawford Market Mumbai 1870 British Couple In Colonial India, 1877 Photo WWII Indian Made Armoured Vehicle, 1942 Photo Indian Railways One Hundred Years – Old Book 1953 Life In British India Horseshoe Work, 1890 Photo The Experimental Steam Tram of Calcutta, 1900 Postcard Electric Trams During The British Era In Madras, 2 Photos 1911 Britishers At A Badminton Party India – Old 1880 Photo Khadakwasla Lake In British Era Poona, 1870 Photo Charlie Chaplin Signed Photo And Gandhi – 2 Old Photos Public Works Office Building British Era Bombay, 1872 Photo Europeans In Horse Carriage Lalbagh Bangalore, 1898 British Business In Colonial Era India, 1888 Photo Route Of The SMS Emden In WWI – Vintage Map 1930 Our Journey Around The World – 1894 Book 1808 The Baby Elephant Antique Print From Buffon Electric Trams of Madras 1930- Old Photo Tennis In Action In Coonoor Nilgiri Hills, 1894 Photo Tennis Game During British India Era, 1885 Photo Panoramic View Of British Era Bombay, Rare 1905 Postcards Central Province Railway or Shakuntala Railway – Old Photo Domestic Life During British India Era, 1890 Photo 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#17) Arunachaleswarar Temple Bombay Postal Censor, 1915 Postcard 1894 Kottayam Travancore Postcard Experimental P.O. Cancellation Nilgiri Railway, Ooty Toy Train Locomotive’s Blueprint 1890 The Dutch Capture of Cochin From The Portuguese, 1702 Plan View Of Fort Cochin & Town, Antique Plan 1704 Bombay To Mahabaleshwar Motor Car Rally In 1906 Crawford Market In 19th Century Bombay, 1874 Print Malik-i-Maidan, One of the World’s Largest Cannons, 1880 Photo Brahmin Family In India, 1861 Print M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal On Paper Beautiful Lady (#6) Fort St George Northern View Madras, 1872 Photo Test Run of The Nilgiri Mountain Railway Train, 1899 Photo Making Of The Mullaperiyar Dam, 1895 Print Coir Retting By Women In Travancore, 1870 Photo A Glimpse of Life In British India Era, 1865 Photo A Page On Calicut From A Rare 1713 Latin Book Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Bombay, Rare 1905 Advertisement Earliest Motor Car In Colaba Bombay – Old Photo 1900 Nazi Germany’s Map of Bombay With Eagle & Swastika Seal 1940s Raja Ravi Varma’s Balamani Actress, 1902 Postcard Raja Ravi Varma’s Portrait Photo, 1906 Postcard Birth of Shakuntala The First Oleograph of Raja Ravi Varma 1894 European Women In Bullock Cart British India, 1900 PC  Earliest View of Bowring Institute In Bangalore, 1890 Postcard European Girls Cycling At Commercial Street Bangalore, 1904 PC Cooum River In 19th Century Madaras, 1880 Photo Inauguration Of Parliament Building Delhi – Old Photo 1927 Horse-Drawn Tram In Calcutta, 1880 Photo South Parade Road British Era Bangalore, 1880 Photo British Cantonment Area Bangalore, 1880 Photo

Past India

You can see the main categories on the top of the page, and except for the “Raja Ravi Varma Oleograph & Other Art” category all the other main categories have drop-down to sub-categories. You can then select the subject of your interest or you can check through the search box and if available it will display the results. The photos, prints & picture postcards depict a varied subjects of a Past India we may have forgotten- from people on the streets to people at grand events like Delhi durbar, from Taj Mahal to Gateway of India, from residential areas to commercial areas, from home exterior to interior of homes and so on. This site also includes a photo of "Charlie Chaplin" with his autograph signed on the back. There are also old maps, books, Raja Ravi Varma’s oelographs etc. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is an old adage, I’m sure this blog should interest you likewise. All the items displayed are from my personal collection unless otherwise specified.

Contact us:

info@past-india.com
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