3 Vintage Postcards Ravi Varma Press, 1899
These three postcards were either published for or by the Ravi Varma Press in the early 1900s. The Victoria Terminus postcard is signed “PG” or “Paul Gerhardt”. Paul Gerhardt was one of the German technicians in the Ravi Varma Press, a favourite of the Varma brothers. He was in charge of transferring the pictures to stone, he sometimes helped the Varma brothers with their art work in the press.
This Victoria Terminus postcard was printed at the Ravi Varma Press, Karli or Karla. The 2nd and 3rd postcards are of Shakuntala with maids and Maharastra – Beauty respectively. Both were the “Ravi Beauty Series” postcards and were published for the Ravi Varma Press by P S Joshi at the time. The Ravi Varma Press was taken over by Fritz Schleicher, the Chief German Technician. He shrewdly incorporated by printing large and exclusive oleographs to tiny match labels. The popular postcard was one of this medium.
Also read Raja Ravi Varma Press.
Did you know – Raja Ravi Varma personally involved himself in creating the first oleograph “Birth of Shakuntala” in the press in 1894.
Past posts – Prince of Wales’s Tour of British India, Photo 1921., Bamboo Island Cubbon Park Bangalore, PC 1905.
