Art Whisper
Art Whisper
Samuel Bourne, 1863
Step back to 1863 with Samuel Bourne's "Shimla. View on the Mall in Winter," a stunning albumen print capturing the serene, snow-dusted colonial charm of British India's summer capital.
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Samuel Bourne's "Shimla. View on the Mall in Winter" is a captivating albumen print from 1863, capturing the colonial grandeur of Shimla, then the summer capital of British India. Bourne, a British photographer who arrived in India in early 1863, quickly established himself as a master of landscape photography. This work, created during his prolific seven years in India, showcases his remarkable ability to document the vast and varied Indian subcontinent, often under challenging conditions. Bourne's meticulous composition and technical expertise, honed through his use of large-format cameras and the wet plate collodion process, are evident here. The photograph provides a window into a specific moment in time, reflecting both the natural beauty of the Himalayas and the presence of British colonial life. It was during this period that Bourne, along with Charles Shepherd, founded the renowned photographic studio Bourne & Shepherd, first in Shimla, which would become the premier photographic business in India.
Snow-covered buildings and trees lining the Mall
Figures dressed in winter attire, perhaps Europeans and locals
The architectural style of the colonial buildings
Step back to 1863 with Samuel Bourne's "Shimla. View on the Mall in Winter," a stunning albumen print capturing the serene, snow-dusted colonial charm of Briti…
A bank clerk who quit his job, sailed to India, and hauled cameras up 18,600-foot Himalayan passes to capture 2,200 images.
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