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Homenb-develop-admin2026-07-18T17:43:18+05:30
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Bird's Eye View of George Town Madras, 1900 Postcard
Bird’s Eye View of George Town Madras, 1900 Postcard
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Bird’s Eye View of George Town Madras, 1900 Postcard

Bird’s Eye View of George Town Madras, 1900 Postcard

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Bird's Eye View of George Town Madras, 1900 Postcard An old 1900 photo postcard with a bird's eye view of [...]

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Chandni Chowk With Tram British Era Delhi, 1910 Postcard
Chandni Chowk With Tram British Era Delhi, 1910 Postcard
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Chandni Chowk With Tram British Era Delhi, 1910 Postcard

Chandni Chowk With Tram British Era Delhi, 1910 Postcard

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Chandni Chowk With Tram British Era Delhi, 1910 Postcard A rare 1910 postcard of Chandni Chowk with tram in Delhi. [...]

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Madras Electric Trams, 2 Old Photos 1902
Madras Electric Trams, 2 Old Photo Negatives 1902
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Madras Electric Trams, 2 Old Photo Negatives 1902

Madras Electric Trams, 2 Old Photo Negatives 1902

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Madras Electric Trams, 2 Old Photo Negatives 1902 These are two rare old photo negatives of the Madras Electric Trams. [...]

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British Era Bombay High Court, Old Photo 1880
British Era Bombay High Court, Old Photo 1880
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British Era Bombay High Court, Old Photo 1880

British Era Bombay High Court, Old Photo 1880

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British Era Bombay High Court, Old Photo 1880. An old 1880 photo of the Bombay High Court from the British [...]

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Vintage photograph of the Officer's Mess House inside Fort St. George, Madras (Chennai), with the Madras Lighthouse visible in the distance during the British colonial era.
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Officer’s Mess House Inside Fort St George Madras, 1870 Photo

Officer’s Mess House Inside Fort St George Madras, 1870 Photo

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Officer's Mess House Inside Fort St George Madras, 1870 Photo A 1880 photograph of the officer's mess house inside Fort [...]

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Beautiful Motor Cars In British India Era, 1908 PC
Beautiful Motor Cars In British India Era, 1908 PC
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Beautiful Motor Cars In British India Era, 1908 Old Postcard This old 1908 photo postcard shows a beautiful Vulcan motor [...]

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Esplanade Road British Era Madras - 2 Postcards 1945
Esplanade Road British Era Madras – 2 Postcards 1945
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Esplanade Road British Era Madras – 2 Postcards 1945

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Bombay Museum Hamburg American Lines World Cruise, 1931 PC
Bombay Museum Hamburg American Lines World Cruise, 1931 PC
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Bombay Museum Hamburg American Lines World Cruise, 1931 PC

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King George & Queen Mary Parade British Era Calcutta, 1912 PC
King George & Queen Mary Parade British Era Calcutta, 1912 PC
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King George & Queen Mary Parade British Era Calcutta, 1912 PC

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Calcutta Postcard, Old India Postcards

King George & Queen Mary Parade British Era Calcutta, 1912 PC A 1912 photo postcard of King George & Queen [...]

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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

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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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