Beschreibung:

A service album of Indian photographs, circa 1900, including Delhi, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and China, begins with nine images of the Delhi Durbar including State Elephants, the 'Kashmir Giant' and Devil dancers from Ladakh; followed by nineteen images, mostly by Holmes, depicting Peshawar and North West Frontier; concludes with twenty-two group portraits including sporting teams, NCO's of the 3rd Battalion Rifle Brigade standing in the snow in Northern China, Execution of blacklegs by Japanese soldiers etc/Note: Most probably compiled by an NCO of the 3rd Battalion Rifle Brigade between 1897-1903./see illustration Full description of the images contained in the album:-Excellent Service Album of India Photographs, circa 1897 – 1903 Delhi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi & Co. 1897 – 1903 Oblong 4to.album, black half skiver on bottle green pebble-grained cloth boards, neatly rebacked, 50 full-plate photographs, 2 half plate and a quantity of family snap-shots and post cards to three album leaves. Externally a little rubbed and rebacked as described, some marginal fading of the images, but overall very good. A nicely compiled souvenir album of service in India, NWF and China. Opens with 9 images of the Delhi Durbar including retainers from the Shan States, masked Devil dancers from Ladakh and ‘the Kashmir giant’; followed by 19 images of Peshawar and environs, most of them by Holmes; concludes with 22 various group portraits including amateur dramatic troupes; tableaux vivants; rifle, football and cricket teams’ but also a splendid image of the NCOs of the 3rd Battalion Rifle Brigade on service in North China standing ankle-deep in snow in fur poshteens, a ‘Group of Mixed Nationalities, Chinese Expeditionary Forces 1901- 1’, a company of the Chinese Regiment at Wei-hai-wei, and the inevitable shock image of the ‘Execution of ‘blacklegs’ or rebels by Japanese soldiers’ which someone has evidently tried to remove – to sanitise the album for family viewing – at some point. An interesting collection of images, all well captioned and evidently compiled by an NCO of the 3rd Battalion Rifle Brigade as almost all of the groups are drawn from the other ranks. The large photos are mostly 30cm x 216cm with a few being a little smaller and by a range of photographers including Holmes, Bali , Bremner and Rust along with various that are unattributed. There is a group of later amateur photos at the end of the album. None of the sitters are identified, however there is a group of three photos that are from St Helena around 1912, one showing two graves for Jane Marie Liddy (died 1911), wife of Gerard Liddy JP and coroner to His Majesty and another for Jane Ann Ormerod (1871 – 1908), a nurse who moved from Carlisle to St Helena. There are two other amateur photos possibly showing the Governor General (most likely Sir Henry Galway and Lady Galway). The tombstone may yet yield a clue as to the original owner of the album. The final photo is a later photo of the regiment that is inserted into the back cover. A full list of the images is as follows:- Cadet School of the Imperial cadet corps, formed by Lord Curzon for the training of the elder sons of the ruling Indian Princes. State entry on the Indian Princes at the 1903 Delhi Durbar The Camp of the Maharaja of Patiala at the Delhi Durbar in 1903 State elephants of the Rajah of Rewah Retainers from the Shan States – Further India State elephants from Gwalior State Retainers of the native Chiefs at the Delhi Durbar 1903 Masked Dancers from Ladakh in the Indus Valley, complete with description of the meaning of the dance. The massed bands at the Delhi Durbar 1903 including schoolmaster A H Parish attached to the 3rd Bt The Rifle Brigade The Kashmir Giant – 7 foot 11 ¾ tall Peshawar city (Holmes) Old Residency Road in Peshawar (Holmes) The Mall at Peshawar (Holmes) Silk Market at Peshawar (Holmes) Camel Market at Peshawar (Holmes) Cherat, a small hill station for Peshawar (Holmes) Cherat, troops firing ‘feu-de-jo