[Mussucks for Crossing the Beas River Below Bajoura]

Samuel Bourne's photograph, "[Mussucks for Crossing the Beas River Below Bajoura]," transports us to the rugged landscapes of 19th-century India, a testament to his ambitious photographic expeditions. Bourne, a British photographer who spent seven prolific years in India from 1863 to 1870, was renowned for his landscape and architectural studies. This albumen silver print, created in 1866, likely captures a moment from his third and most ambitious Himalayan journey that year, where he aimed to photograph the source of the Ganges. To achieve such images, Bourne traveled with a retinue of porters, carrying heavy equipment including a 10x12-inch plate camera and chemicals for the wet plate collodion process. The title itself, referencing 'mussucks' (inflated animal skins used as floats) for river crossings, hints at the challenging conditions Bourne and his subjects faced. This work exemplifies his remarkable ability to combine a fine eye for composition with high technical expertise, making him one of the foremost 19th-century travel photographers of India.