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British Plantation Owners Colonial India, 1900 Photo
British Plantation Owners Colonial India, 1900 Photo
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British Plantation Owners Colonial India, 1900 Photo

British Plantation Owners Colonial India, 1900 Photo

Old India Photos, Other India Photos

British Plantation Owners Colonial India, 1900 Photo An old 1900 photograph of British plantation owners in the colonial India era. ....read more

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British Family On Vacation India, 1880 Photo
British Family On Vacation India, 1880 Photo
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British Family On Vacation India, 1880 Photo

British Family On Vacation India, 1880 Photo

Old India Photos, Other India Photos

British Family On Vacation India, 1880 Photo Old 1880 photo that shows a glimpse of colonial life, a British family ....read more

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Taj Mahal Across The River Yamuna, 1865 Photo
Taj Mahal Across The River Yamuna, 1865 Photo
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Taj Mahal Across The River Yamuna, 1865 Photo

Taj Mahal Across The River Yamuna, 1865 Photo

Old India Photos, Other India Photos

Taj Mahal Across The River Yamuna, 1865 Photo An old 1865 photo of the great Taj Mahal from across the ....read more

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Views of Steam Train To Ooty In The Nilgiris, 3 Old Postcards 1909
Views of Steam Train To Ooty In The Nilgiris – 3 Old Postcards 1909
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Views of Steam Train To Ooty In The Nilgiris – 3 Old Postcards 1909

Views of Steam Train To Ooty In The Nilgiris – 3 Old Postcards 1909

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Vintage Book 1897 - In India: or Bombay The Beautiful
Vintage Book 1897 – In India: or Bombay The Beautiful
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Vintage Book 1897 – In India: or Bombay The Beautiful

Vintage Book 1897 – In India: or Bombay The Beautiful

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Aerial View of Rashtrapati Bhavan & Parliament, 1948 Postcard
Aerial View of Rashtrapati Bhavan & Parliament, 1948 Postcard
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Aerial View of Rashtrapati Bhavan & Parliament, 1948 Postcard

Aerial View of Rashtrapati Bhavan & Parliament, 1948 Postcard

Delhi Postcards, Old India Postcards

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Worli Fort In British Era Bombay, 1930 Print
Worli Fort In British Era Bombay, 1930 Print
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Worli Fort In British Era Bombay, 1930 Print

Worli Fort In British Era Bombay, 1930 Print

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kingsway railway station
Delhi Durbar Kingsway Railway Station – Old Photo 1911
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Delhi Durbar Kingsway Railway Station – Old Photo 1911

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The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Temple of mystery and wealth.
Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trivandrum, 1907 Postcard
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Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trivandrum, 1907 Postcard

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trivandrum, 1907 Postcard

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Cochin & Kerala Backwaters, 6 Old Postcards
Cochin & Kerala Backwaters – 6 Old Postcards 1900
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Cochin & Kerala Backwaters – 6 Old Postcards 1900

Cochin & Kerala Backwaters – 6 Old Postcards 1900

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Cochin & Kerala Backwaters - 6 Old Postcards 1900 Six interesting old photo postcards of Cochin (Ernakulam) & the Kerala ....read more

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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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