A Britisher’s Domestic Life In Madras – 2 Postcards 1900
Two interesting 1900 photo postcards depict tub scenes of a Britisher’s domestic life in Madras, now Chennai. A domestic helper pours water on his British master during a bath in the tub shown in the first postcard. In the second postcard, the master is shown again immersed in a tub full of water with a cigar in his mouth busy reading a newspaper. Notable is the hand-pulled punkah swishing over his head.
To see an earlier post go to Domestic Life of Britishers In Colonial India – 2 Old Postcards 1900.
Both are titled “The Morning Tub” and “Cool at Last.” It shows that Europeans often had help waiting on them. But this was an unimaginable luxury back home in England. Domestic help was cheap and in plenty during the British era. For each type of chore, there was a help, for the household, dhoby (washerman), cart driver, gardening, cooks, and so on.
Did you know – in the early 20th Century, picture postcards served as a kind of Instagram, giving Europeans a glimpse of the life their family and friends led in British colonial India.
Past posts – 11 Picture Postcards On Raja Ravi Varma Oil Paintings., Inside View Government House Madras, 1888., Royal Visit To British Era Bombay – Old Print 1883., Vintage Book 1881 – Everyday Life In India.
The images are of the actual items from my collection. And Not a photocopy, pirated, reproduced, stock photos, or taken from other sources.
