PHOTOGRAPHS OF CALCUTTA
(KOLKATA) 1912
Amazing collection of photographs depicting life in India
a century ago are found in an old shoebox. A tennis
party pose among tea trolleys:
full-length dresses and sun hats for the ladies; shirt-sleeve order,
neat moustaches and optional pipe for the men.
One image shows buildings in the city of Calcutta lit up over the
Lal Dighi body of water, commemorating a British royal visit,
while another depicts ships arriving at the Chandpal Ghat,
the main landing site for visitors to the city along
the Hooghly River.
All 178 of the plate-glass negatives were found inside a size-nine
Peter Lord shoebox by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and
Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in Edinburgh.
All 178 images were found in a Peter Lord shoe-box
in Edinburgh and are about 100 years old.
[1]
A tennis party poses (one, far right, with a pipe) among tea trolleys in this photo taken in India around a century ago. 
[2]
Two men stick dance in front of a crowd in Maidan,
Calcutta. The dance represents a mock fight between
legendary warrior Durga and the mighty demon
king Mahishasura. 
[3]
Buildings on the south-east side of Lal Dighi, Calcutta,
lit at night for the 1912 British royal visit by
King George V and Queen Mary. 
[4]
Archivists have confirmed some of the images were
definitely taken in 1912, when the royals visited.
It was the only trip by a British monarch to India
as Emperor of the subcontinent.
[5]
King George V and the Queen arrive in Delhi in 1911.
[6]
A crowded riverside with bathers at Chandpal Ghat
in Calcutta, the main landing site for visitors to the city
along the Hooghly River.
[7]
A street scene in an unknown location, capturing life in
India at least a century ago. 
[8]
Ships arriving at Chandpal Ghat, while crowds gather
by the docks.
[9]
A Jain temple complex in Calcutta called Dadaji's Temple.
even today it is a sight-seeing place for visitors.
[10]
A street hairdresser giving a 'Hindustani haircut' (pudding bowl)
in Strand Road South, Calcutta.
[11]
Celebrations for the visit of King George V and Queen Mary
to Calcutta in 1912.
[12]
A Muhurram (sacred month) procession through a crowded
Calcutta street with tazieh theatre performance in the
background. Tazieh drama re-enacts heroic tales
of love and sacrifice. 
[13]
Calcutta is lit up for the royal visit
[14] A group seated in two ferry canoes moored in
a stream at an unknown location.
[15]
Waterside with a group of washer-men at a Dhobighat
(open-air laundry zone).
