Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri - 19th-century India through the eyes of Samuel Bourne
British photographer
Samuel Bourne came to India in 1863 as a young man of 29 who had already
received some plaudits for his landscape images. By the time he left seven
years later, he had produced over 25,000 photographs and co-founded a photo
studio company that still survives. Bourne’s images are
considered some of the finest examples of 19th-century travel photography.
Assisted by Indian bearers, the former bank clerk travelled across the
subcontinent to create a collection for Kolkata’s Bourne and Shepherd studio.
Ooty (formerly Ootacamund), the lake and the new church from
near Audrey House c. 1869/Samuel Bourne. Courtesy: MAP/Tasveer
The studio was set up
by Bourne and an associate called William Howard and later joined by Charles
Shepherd. When Howard left for Britain in 1866, the studio got its present
name. An exhibition of its vintage photos, curated by Tasveer Foundation, is
going on display at Delhi’s Exhibit 320 art gallery. In Bourne’s India, you
can see harsh and splendorous landscapes, royal heritage and the interstices
between antiquity and modernity. He wasn’t the first photographer in India, nor
the collectors’ favourite – but his dedication to the medium and the breadth of
his oeuvre set him apart.
Bourne journeyed from
Varanasi and Delhi to Agra and Bombay, among many other places, all the while
making a photographic record of the country. As writer-broadcaster Trevor
Fishlock wrote in The Telegraph: “He endured terrible
cold in the mountains, his hands aching from pain caused by frost and
chemicals. He travelled heavy: 42 coolies carried his cameras, darkroom tent
and chests of chemicals and glass plates. He worked with wet plates, mixing
chemicals and applying them to glass, ensuring that the emulsion stayed damp
throughout long exposures and development. In the Himalayas he once worked for
days in sub-zero temperatures to get just four negatives.” See photos:
http://scroll.in/article/808442/in-pictures-19th-century-india-through-the-eyes-of-samuel-bourne
