Figure 1.--Tho. A. Rust was an early Indian photographer. One source reports he was active in the northern cities of Allahabad and Mussoorie. This portrait is undated, but looks like the 1870s. We note Rust taking portraits that were between CDVs and cabinet cards in size, anoutb 5.1 x 3.7 inches. We do not know how common this was in India. The studio was identified on the back, but the locatiion indicated was only India.

India was under British control by the time that photography was invented in Europe (1839). This history of photography in India thus begins with the British Raj. Photography did not develop as rapidly in Britain as it did in America. Thus we find relatively few Daguerreotypdes and Ambrotypes from Britain. The same is true of India. We do not know if there were any Dag or Ambro studios yey, but suspect there were very few if any. We suspect that some the Indian princes had photographs taken. There are, as aesult, few Indian photographs until the 1860s. Several developmebnts came togetrher at about time. The Indian mutiny occurred (1857) and was not supressed until the following year. The British rushed reinforcements to India. This was just after the first war was photographed--the Crimean war. The outcome of the Mutiny was a greatly expanded British presence in India, both military and civilian. And some of the Brits that came were interested in photography. At the sane time, as a result of the Mutiny, the British public wanted to see images of the places and people they had been reading about in the newspapers. This created a commercial demand for Indian photographs. And this interest only increased as India came to be seen as the Jewel in Crown meaning Empire. The British East Asia Company actually employed photographers. The first interest was archaeological sites. Other company employees as well as subequent colonial officials were avid amateur photographers. Photography thus became became an important element of the `Archaeological Survey of India` (1861). The British public's interest was not just limited to archaeology, but wanted to see images illustating people, places, culture, scenery, and other interesting aspects. The missionaries who came in increasing numbers included some avid photographers. The increasing number of British subjects and other Westerners in India, as wll as affluent Indians created a demand for photographs. The intrioduction of the albumen print and CDV print simplified the process as wll as reduced the price. Not only were photographs taken for the normal reasons, but British officials and businessmen and their families want them for scrapbooks and family albums that they would taken home with them. An important early photograopher was Samuel BourneWe. We do not know when the first photographic studio was opened, but know that there were studios by the 1860s. One was Tho. A. Rust Rust in northern India. We note Rust taking portraits that were between CDVs and cabinet cards in size. We do not know how common this was in India. As in America and Europe, the expAnsion of amateur photography with the snapshot greatly expnded the wealth of photographic images.

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Created: 9:36 PM 10/28/2009
Last updated: 9:36 PM 10/28/2009