Early Bombay Photography

Early photography flourished throughout India, with particular vigour in the city of Bombay. Long before the invention of moving pictures, and long before Bollywood, Bombay was the first Indian city where the photographic needs of the public including more affluent indigenous Indians as well as British were catered to. The aim of this publication in researching under-recognized photographers of the time like Narayen Daji, Hurrichund Chintamon, Shivashanker Narayen and Shapoor N. Bhedwar is to contribute new information for a local history that is still very much in formation. Following a roughly chronological trajectory, the volume looks at some of the earliest surviving Bombay photographs, and moves through differing eras to the end of the century, covering architectural studies and landscapes, portraits and ethnographic studies, and the documentation of trade and technological advancements that produced such spectacular pictures. Contents: Introduction; Photography Arrives; Narayan Daji; Early Publications, Ethnography, and Hurrichund Chintamon; Agendas, Patronage, and Clientele; Architecture, Archaeology, and Topographical Views; Industry, Trade, Transportation, and Commissions; In the Artistic Context: Shapoor N. Bhedwar and Pictorialism; Expanding Histories.