Two Colonial India Photo Albums, with sporting scenes as well as portraits, government buildings and other landmarks

1904. Cloth. Very Good. Each album is oblong, 14 by 28 cm and 14.5 by 25 cm. 12 leaves each. Containing 48 and 34 photos, respectively, each photo, 10 by 8 cm, mounted in windows. Sporting scenes, which are overall the most interesting in in the album, show hunting, on elephant and horseback, with a massive army of beaters, for tigers; horse racing -- the 1904 Calcutta Paperchase -- and golf. The hunting scenes include Viceroy Curzon and his staff. Women are decked in European clothing that doesn't necessarily make full concessions to the Indian climate. We see the colonists relaxing -- in one photo, they are enjoying a picnic; in another, they are lounging on a flat boat. Among the more formal occasions are a parade with bagpipes. Portraits include a photo of Keighley himself -- the first photo in one of the albums, and the Maharaja of Cooch Behar. The photos generally have handwritten captions in pencil, which enables us to identify the people and events. Albums are standard Kodak cloth albums, with Greek key bands on front, two photo windows per page. One album is complete, while the other has blank windows, all but probably one never filled with a photo. Keighley, at the time of this album, was a Captain, but later became a major. He was born in 1874 and first commissioned in the Scottish Rifles. He was an adjutant to the Viceroy's Body Guard from 1904 to 1909. He retired from the army in 1921. Condition: moderate wear to the albums. Some foxing to the card. One album has a few photos with a moderate to heavy wear.