Important Notice

More Images

SAMUEL BOURNE and CHARLES SHEPHERD, Bourne & Shepherd's Royal Photographic Album of Scenes and Personages: Connected with the Progress of H. R. H. The Prince of Wales, through Bengal, the North-West Provinces, the Punjab and Nepal with some descriptive letterpress, Calcutta, Bombay and Simla: Bourne and Shepherd, 1876

79 pages of descriptive text for the Photos; 140 photos plus frontispiece (141) by Colin Murray depicting rulers, military costumes, ethnic, maharajas, shikar etc.br.Original blind-stamped blue cloth with gilt text on the front board and all edges gilt
37.6 x 29 x 4.2 cm

This large, rare folio album features original albumen prints, as well as texts and newspaper articles, documenting the visit of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) to the Indian subcontinent. The extensive tour, which began in October 1975 and was completed in May 1876, covered more than 21 towns and cities. "British monarchs and members of the Royal Family undertook lengthy tours to strengthen ties with other countries, and also to learn more about the culture and history of those regions. The Prince of Wales's tour of India was envisaged as a way of forging diplomatic links between the Indian rulers and the British Crown." ("The Prince of Wales's Tour of India in 1875-6," Royal Collection Trust, rct.uk, online) The present lot includes photographs of important cities on the tour, as well as the Prince and his party. These were created by Bourne and Shepherd - a leading photographic studio, and one of the oldest in the world, which was established in 1863 in India.