Empress of India Saloon At Fort Bombay, 1886 East India Postcard
An old 1886 East India Company Empress of India Saloon at Fort Bombay (Mumbai). The Empress of India saloon was actually a pub at Fort in Bombay. The Fort area of Bombay was where Europeans usually converged for business and stay. The evenings for most were spent on liquor and entertainment.
There were many medium-type bars and hotels with entertainment and programs for mostly European clients. Since South Bombay had a large concentration of Europeans. Watson’s Hotel a leading hotel at that time was one of the most popular. Regarding the Empress of India Saloon there seems to be no information on this 19th-century bar that was located at Fort.
The postcard announcing the saloon’s reopening is interesting, it reads –
“Empress of India Saloon, Under European management of two young ladies. Marine Street, Between the Bombay Bank and Crawford & Co, Auctioneers, Mrs. H Bard begs to inform her old patrons and the public in general that she is now re-established at the above address. First class new billiard tables fitted up by John Roberts. Best wines and spirits supplied. American Bar Grand Pianoforte music every night. To those who have been before, no invitation is necessary. Come One, Come All. The only place of the kind in the Fort.”
Did you know – there were many theater groups in Bombay during the British era, from the English theater to Parsi, Marathi, Konkani, and so on.
Past posts – Raja Ravi Varma’s Balamani – Old Postcard 1902., Route To Malabar Hill From Back Bay Bombay, 1890 Photo., Indian National Congress Bombay or Mumbai – Old Print 1905., Suratta or Surat – Antique Map / Plan 1720.
