British military photograph album with views of Sri Lanka, Egypt, India, and Istanbul, 1894-1901

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Summary

Abstract:
Album contains 51 albumen silver prints taken in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka); Bellary, India; Constantinople (Istanbul), and Egypt. A few images are from Nice, France, and Monte Carlo. The album bears no owner's name, but likely belonged to an individual in the British Army. On the first leaf is pasted a large coat of arms with a motto from the Isle of Man. The Sri Lanka images date from 1894-1895 and include: images from Colombo of military barracks, the hotel Mount Lavinia, Galle Face Green, the British Governor's palace; monsoon waves on a breakwater, polo grounds, and a racetrack; views from the town of Kandy and its lake; images from Trincomalee from an Officers Mess; and race scenes from Nuwara Eliya and Colombo. Views from Egypt show the Great Sphinx, streets in Cairo, and palaces in Alexandria. Images from Constantinople include street scenes, mosques, the port, and the arsenal, while those from India include servants with racehorses, and British men and servants at private residences. There are also images of the hospital ship "Spartan"; portraits of the B and C Companies, 4th Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Dublin, 1902, and the 1st Royal Warwicks in Bellary, India, 1899; a military camp "Marachah," possibly in Afghanistan; and images of military buildings in Sri Lanka. Many of the Sri Lanka images are credited to William H.L. Skeen, a commercial photographer based in Colombo and Kandy; several prints bear his studio's imprint, while others are unattributed but are probably his. The Middle Eastern views are all prints by commercial photographers: the Zangaki brothers (one print), Schroeder & (three prints) and Sebah & Joaillier (five prints). Many of the commercial prints are captioned in the negatives. Prints range in size from 8 3/4 x 11 to 5 3/4 x 8 inches; most are full-page sizes.
Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11764

Background

Scope and content:

Bound photograph album contains 51 albumen silver prints dating from 1894-1901, taken in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Bellary, India, Constantinople (Istanbul), and Egypt. A few images are from Nice, France, and Monte Carlo. The album bears no owner's name, but likely belonged to an individual in the British Army. Many of the photographs are captioned. Prints range in size from 8 3/4 x 11 to 5 3/4 x 8 inches; most are full-page sizes.

Sri Lanka images predominate, many attributed to William Henry Louis Skeen, a well-known British-born studio photographer based in Sri Lanka; several prints bear his studio's imprint, while others are unmarked but are likely from his studio.

Images from Sri Lanka date from 1894-1895. Colombo views include: Galle Face Green (Colombo); infantry barracks shown from the front and back, with lake, hospital, polo ground and club house; Mount Lavinia Hotel, with infantry barracks room and officers quarters, 1895; and waves crashing over a breakwater during monsoon. Images from other locations include: a panorama of Kandy; Trincomalee from Officers Mess, 1895; Kandy with lake view and Trincomalee street; India rubber trees, Peredinaya Gardens, Kandy; Main Street, Pettah; "A.S.T." (probably the album's owner) in Ceylon, 1894; polo group, Ceylon 1894; Stewards Stand, Colombo Races, 1894; and Nuwara Eliya Races, 1894, "Comewell wins!"

Views of Egypt are from 1898 and include the Great Sphinx; Gizeh, palace of Prince Hussein Kamil Pacha; Alexandria, Palace Mehemed Ali; Alexandria, palace Ras-el-tin; photograph of a print titled, "Birds Eye View of the Battle of El-Teb"; "Old Cairo"; and a city street in Cairo. Views from Constantinople include the interior of Mosque Sainte Sophie; a street scene; panoramic view of the city and old port; view of the Golden Horn and arsenal; Mosque Hamidiye and Yildiz palace; and an Ottoman porter (studio portrait). The Middle Eastern views date from the mid-1890s and are all by commercial studios: the Zangaki brothers (one print), Schroeder & Cie, Zurich (three prints) and Sebah & Joaillier (five prints). Many of these are captioned in the negatives.

India images are dated later and include: the 1st Royal Warwicks, Bellary India, 1899; Indian servants with race horses; and Indian servants and staff outside private residence with two English men in suits. There are six total residential images, undated and without captions.

There are several commercial views from Europe: Nice, France: "Cascade du chateau" and an image from the Promenade des Anglais, 1901; and a view of a Monte Carlo theater, 1901.

Military images include: the hospital ship "Spartan," 1900; C Company of the 4th Royal Warwickshire Reg.t Dublin, 1902; B Company 4th Royal Warwickshire Reg.t Dublin, 1902; and a loosely inserted image captioned "Officers War. R. Peshawar" with names of officers recorded in pencil on verso. The final image is labeled "Camp Marachah," possibly in Afghanistan. Two smaller glossy copies of an image of men with well-bred horses in a desert landscape are laid in the closing pages.

On the first album leaf is pasted a coat of arms with the original Latin motto crossed out, and a different one written below in period ink, "Quocunque jeceris stabit", meaning "Whichever way you throw, it will stand," the motto for the coat of arms of the Isle of Man.

Biographical / historical:

The photographs in this album were taken in the late 19th century and document a period during which the British Empire had established colonial outposts in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), closely tied to British-owned coffee, rubber, and tea plantations and other export industries, and requiring a constant military presence to counter native inhabitant rebellions and protest colonial interests.

Acquisition information:
The British military photograph album with views of Sri Lanka, Egypt, India, and Istanbul was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2019.
Processing information:

Processed and described by Paula Jeannet, August 2019.

Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2019-0095.

Physical facet:
1 volume, 51 prints
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

Preferred citation: [British military photograph album with views of Sri Lanka, Egypt, India, and Istanbul, 1894-1901], David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.