Indian Historic Photographs

A man from Jaipur, possibly a Rajput chieftain or nobleman, in traditional attire, is photographed by Francis Smith, c. 1860–1880s.

Garden Party at Hyderabad (Telangana), c. 1926.

Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam, can also be seen in the photograph.

The Jagirdar of Arni (Arani) with his suite, c. 1866–1870.

This photograph, taken in 1912 in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, shows the place from which Rash Behari Bose threw a bomb on 23 December at Charles Hardinge, the Viceroy of India that year. Hardinge barely escaped, but the bomb killed his aide-de-camp.

Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner is seen arriving at the Château de Versailles in Versailles, France, on 28 June 1919 to append, as a representative of India, his signature to the Treaty of Versailles, which effectively brought about the end of the First World War.

This cannon, likely cast in 1757, is known as the Zamzama and was immortalised by Rudyard Kipling as Kim’s Gun. Lahore, c. 1906.

Maharajkumar Bhagwat Singh of Udaipur inspects a guard of honour formed by the Bikaner State Forces. His grandfather-in-law, Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, is with him. c. 1940.

View of Amer Fort, possibly by Raja Lala Deen Dayal, c. 1880s.

Photograph shows a scene from the Dussehra festivities at Saddar Bazaar in Lahore Cantonment, c. 1906.

Photograph taken on the occasion of the visit of Field Marshal Philip W. Chetwode, Commander-in-Chief of India, to the State of Bahawalpur in January 1935. The Nawab’s 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I can be seen in front, and the 1930 Cadillac V-16 at the back.

Image credit: Bonhams.

Following the famine of 1899–1900, the Maharaja Madho Singh II of Jaipur compelled the then Government of India to establish the Indian People’s Famine Trust. He contributed a total of Rs 25,00,000 to it, and his wife, Jadonji, contributed a total of Rs 200,000. He had the trust established to ensure that if another famine occurred in India, funds would be readily available to help those in need.

Photograph of Singh from early 1900s.

His Highness the Maharao Raja Sir Raghubir Singh of Bundi, circa 1890s.