After about a cenÂtuÂry of indiÂrect comÂpaÂny rule, India became a full-fledged British colony in 1858. The conÂseÂquences of this politÂiÂcal develÂopÂment remain a matÂter of heatÂed debate today, but one thing is cerÂtain: it made India into a natÂurÂal desÂtiÂnaÂtion for enterÂprisÂing Britons. Take the aspirÂing clerÂgyÂman turned NotÂtingÂham bank employÂee Samuel Bourne, who made his name as an amaÂteur phoÂtogÂraÂphÂer with his picÂtures of the Lake DisÂtrict in the late eighÂteen-fifties. When those works met with a good recepÂtion at the LonÂdon InterÂnaÂtionÂal ExhiÂbiÂtion of 1862, Bourne realÂized that he’d found his true mĂ©tiÂer; soon thereÂafter, he quit the bank and set sail for CalÂcutÂta to pracÂtice it.
It was in the city of ShimÂla that Bourne estabÂlished a propÂer phoÂto stuÂdio, first with his felÂlow phoÂtogÂraÂphÂer William Howard, then with anothÂer named Charles ShepÂherd. (Bourne & ShepÂherd, as it was evenÂtuÂalÂly named, remained in busiÂness until 2016.) Bourne travÂeled extenÂsiveÂly in India, takÂing the picÂtures you can see colÂlectÂed in the video above, but it was his “three sucÂcesÂsive phoÂtoÂgraphÂic expeÂdiÂtions to the Himalayas” that secured his place in the hisÂtoÂry of phoÂtogÂraÂphy.
In the last of these, “Bourne enlistÂed a team of eighty porters who drove a live food supÂply of sheep and goats and carÂried boxÂes of chemÂiÂcals, glass plates, and a portable darkÂroom tent,” says the MetÂroÂpolÂiÂtan MuseÂum of Art. When he crossed the Manirung Pass “at an eleÂvaÂtion of 18,600 feet, Bourne sucÂceedÂed in takÂing three views before the sky cloudÂed over, setÂting a record for phoÂtogÂraÂphy at high altiÂtudes.”
Though he spent only six years in India, Bourne manÂaged to take 2,200 high-qualÂiÂty picÂtures in that time, some of the oldÂest — and indeed, some of the finest — phoÂtographs of India and its nearÂby region known today.
In addiÂtion to views of the Himalayas, he capÂtured no few archiÂtecÂturÂal wonÂders: the Taj Mahal and the RamÂnathi temÂple, of course, but also Raj-era creÂations like what was then known as the GovÂernÂment House in CalÂcutÂta (see below).
ColoÂnial rule has been over for nearÂly eighty years now, and in that time India has grown richÂer in every sense, not least visuÂalÂly. It hardÂly takes an eye as keen as Bourne’s to recÂogÂnize in it one of the world’s great civÂiÂlizaÂtions, but a Bourne of the twenÂty-first cenÂtuÂry probÂaÂbly needs someÂthing more than a camÂera phone to do it jusÂtice.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
The First PhoÂtoÂgraph Ever TakÂen (1826)
The OldÂest Known PhoÂtographs of Rome (1841–1871)
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.