Rare Pictures of Pre-Independence India

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In the year 2012 , a hitherto unknown and priceless collection of 178 plate-glass negatives were discovered in a shoe box in the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in Edinburgh , wrapped in copies of The Statesman dating back to 1914 . They are said to have been taken in India at the beginning of the 20th century and the negatives are thought to be untouched for almost 100 years . Little else is known about the images and the photographer , prompting a search for clues as to his or her identity . One theory is that the photographer might be a British civil servant in Calcutta or was connected to the jute trade in Bengal , as many Scotts were said to be at that time . Nevertheless , these photos present a rare glimpse of the people and social life in India more than 100 years ago . 


Riverbank with bathers and ship , probably from Chandpal Ghat , Kolkata


Chotulal's Ghat , Kolkata . Photograph taken probably from the old Howrah Bridge .

Street market at Babu Ghat , Kolkata 

Street hairdresser giving a 'Hindustani haircut' (pudding bowl) , Strand Road , South Kolkata

Muhurram procession with taziya through crowded street , Kolkata

Stick dancing with onlookers on the Maidan , Kolkata
Group gathered around sweet seller on the Maidan , Kolkata
Waterside with group of washermen at a dhobi ghat , Unknown location
Dakshineshwar Temple , Kolkata

Tipu Sultan Mosque , Chowringhee Road , Kolkata

Possibly Kalighat Temple , Kolkata 
Telegraph Office , Calcutta
General Post Office seen across the Lal Dighi () , with the Royal Insurance Building to the left and the Collectorate Building to the right , Kolkata
The Writers Building , Kolkata from across the Lal Dighi tank at night , lit for the British royal visit

A crowded riverside with bathers at Chandpal Ghat in Calcutta 
Celebrations for the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Calcutta in 1912
A group seated in two ferry canoes moored in stream at an unknown location
A street scene in an unknown location
King George V and the Queen arrive in Delhi in 1911
A tennis party in an unknown location

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