Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1171

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.08 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[British] soldier's photograph album of India, 1945, Ms. Coll. 1171, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1945 (inclusive)

Form:

Photographs and Photograph albums

Abstract:

This collection is composed of about 80 photographs taken in India in and around 1945 by an unidentified soldier, likely British.

The creator of the photograph album was a soldier at the end of World War II (1945) in India. The soldier was probably British, but there is no indication of regiment or even where the soldier was stationed; although many of the photographs are labeled "Camp Poona," and there is one photograph of the Lady Lumley Canteen and one photograph of the Willingdon Soldiers' Club, both of which were located in Poona. The photographs largely document Indian culture, although there are a few photographs of soldiers in uniform.

This collection is composed of about 80 photographs taken in India in and around 1945 by an unidentified soldier, likely British.

The photographs are almost exclusively of the daily scenes of life in India. Street workers like a policeman, fruit sellers, shoe makers, "dhobi wallah" (clothes washer), a post man, a snake charmer, a barber, wood sellers and a rickshaw driver are captured by the creator along with the traditional ritual of a burning ghat. On the lighter side, there are images of dancers, a tightrope walker and "domesticated" animals (cobra, elephant, monkey). The creator also captures the living conditions of the poor in India, with shots of beggar settlements. Researchers will find village scenes, a coconut picker, ox carts, and bride and a bridegroom in a wedding.

There are only three photos including military personnel. The creator also recorded some of the sights, mostly in Poona, such as the canteen, winding roads, the race track, a church, the Odeon, streets, buses, and the train station. More famous sites like Malabar Hill, the water fall in Bund Garden, a Burmese pagoda, and Marbleshwar Lake are also present.