The Imported Motor Cars During The British India Era, 1908 Postcard
A 1908 photo postcard of an imported motor car during the British India era. The image shows a Vulcan car with its owner, displayed with a Christmas and New Year greeting. The postcard has the “Egmore” post office cancellation. Egmore is in Madras (now Chennai), which was once one of the presidencies of British India. Madras once had a large population of Europeans.
They normally worked in Fort St George, Port Trust, Railways, civil and military services, and so on. The railways and trams were one of the first automated mobility in India. Later, the invention of the automobile created mobility on a large scale never known before. The colonial raj expanded because of the railways established by the British. It helped to mobilize troops and commercial goods around the country quickly on a massive scale.
The introduction of the Tram in the cities by the 1870s made travel for its residents more comfortable and swift. Then came the automobile in the early 1900s, which completely changed the scene in transportation. Likewise, it played an important role in firmly establishing the British Raj in India. Suddenly, by 1910, there was a mad scramble of automobile brands pouring into British India. Countless brands arrived in India; thus, motor cars became an inevitable choice as a personal carrier.
The Vulcan car was made by the Vulcan Manufacturing Company in the USA. Although India was not limited to the Vulcans, there were the Buicks, Chryslers, Wolseleys, Standard, Sunbeams, De Dion, Deschamps, Humberette, etc. Not to be left out, the higher-end cars like the Daimlers, Mercedes, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces jostled for sales from the maharajas and the wealthy. The import of cars stopped after India’s independence in 1947. Click on the photo to enlarge.
Did you know – the Brass Era is an American term used for the prominent brass fittings in the automobile for such features as the lights, radiators, horns, etc. This brass-era motor car period generally lasted from 1896 to 1915.
From the collection – 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#14)., Fair In Progress At Bombay Maidan 1932 Old Photo., Madras Central Station & Europeans, Old PC 1915., Governor’s Departure From Madras To Calcutta, 1912.
