India’s first auction of vintage photos is a blast from the past

The collection of 103 lots includes images of royalty, early views of Indian cities, 1857 mutiny and more

Fine 19th Century Photographs of India

WHERE: Saffronart, Industry Manor, third floor, Appasaheb Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi

WHEN: 11 am – 7 pm, Monday to Saturday, until October 10, Auction: October 9-10

CALL: 24364113

TO BID, VISIT: Storyltd.com

Portraits of Nizams and maharajas, a CID officer’s notebook recording details of a community he is trying to understand, a velvet case with a photo of a woman from the 1840s, landscapes, photobooks and albums — India’s first dedicated auction of vintage photographs isn’t skimping on variety.

Organised by StoryLTD, the collectibles arm of auction house Saffronart, the sale is titled Fine 19th Century Photographs of India and includes 103 lots, which go on sale on October 9 and 10. The images are on display at Saffronart’s Prabhadevi gallery until then.

While canvases and sculptures regularly go under the hammer in India, vintage photographs haven’t been as popular. “But there is a great deal of interest in these photos worldwide,” says a StoryLTD spokesperson. “They tell us about the time when the pictures were taken, and are crucial for historians and filmmakers who need pictorial references from the period.”

An image of Kolkata from 1946 (StoryLTD)

Veteran photographer Chirodeep Chaudhuri, who has displayed his pictures as both art and documentation, says vintage photos are archives of information. “Each photo can hold value for different people,” he says. “For someone interested in knowing the history of a place, street photos are fascinating; for those interested in politics, the body language of national leaders could be of interest.”

StoryLTD’s collection encompasses socio-political life on the Indian subcontinent. There are images from the 1840s, when the first photographs were taken, to well past Independence. The themes are wide-ranging as well: the 1857 mutiny; early photographing techniques like stereoscopic cards and ambrotype on glass; royal hunting-party scenes, early views of Mumbai, Calcutta and Jaipur; and ethnographic studies of castes and tribes for the Empire. It includes works of early Indian and international masters like Lala Deen Dayal, Samuel Bourne, Felice Beato and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Look closely at the people in the frames; none of them are smiling. That’s because in early photography “there was no certainty when the shutter would click, so the person posing was just asked to hold an expression,” says the spokesperson.

Chaudhuri points out that the collectors for such photos are still mostly big institutions like Delhi’s Alkazi Foundation rather than individuals. At the auction, bids range from ₹20,000 to ₹2 lakh. You may just pick up a piece of history that might appreciate in value.