Bourne to wonder: vintage images on show for first time in Chennai
The
rundown four-storey building at one end of 141, SN Banerjee Road,
Kolkata, which once housed the photo studio Bourne & Shepherd, isn’t
exactly a landmark today.
The deserted, woebegone (and possibly
haunted) building has, for all practical purposes, gone the way of
so many old-world edifices in the city — relegated to an absolute state
of disrepair, beyond hope for any manner of salvage operations.
Yet,
this was one of the world’s oldest photography studios, dating back to
the year 1840. Following a ravaging fire in 1991, which destroyed much
of their archives, Bourne & Shepherd ended its incredible run in
June 2016, owing to financial and legal difficulties (the building was
owned by the Indian government). Eventually, the increasing pressures of
facing up to digital technologies led the studio to draw a quiet close
to its 176-year-old legacy.
The origins of the studio are sketchy,
with various accounts tracing its inception to 1862, when British
photographers Charles Shepherd and Arthur Robertson established the
studio Shepherd & Robertson in Agra. That studio later moved to
Shimla, and eventually became a part of Howard, Bourne & Shepherd,
set up by Samuel Bourne and Shepherd, along with William Howard.
The good shepherd
The travelling exhibition, Bourne & Shepherd — Figures In Time,
hosted by Tasveer and the Museum of Art & Photography, pays tribute
to the studio’s famed archives, and is being shown in Chennai for the
first time, after previous shows in Bengaluru, Kolkata and New Delhi.
The
opportunity is rare, to get a glimpse of 19th century vintage
photographs sourced from the holdings of MAP (Museum of Art &
Photography), including a range of landscapes, architectural views and
portraits by Bourne and Shepherd.
In addition, for the
show, Tasveer has reproduced select prints in enlarged ratios, giving
viewers unique insights into these historically significant images.
For
a background to the show, a note from Tasveer explains Bourne, one of
the most famous of the early European commercial photographers, and the
most prolific photographer of the ‘picturesque’ tradition, was a former
bank clerk, arrived in India in 1836. “Bringing with him a large amount
of photographic equipment, developing local contacts here, and having
access to Indian bearers, Bourne travelled the length and breadth of the
sub-continent — producing over 2,000 negatives including some of the
finest 19th century travel photography,” says the note.
“One of
the most prestigious studios of its time, it was patronised heavily by
royalty, nobility, Europeans, Indians and a mushrooming upper
middle-class; and certain to be commissioned for events such as the
Delhi Durbar,” explain the hosts, in the show’s accompanying literature.
“Though
Shepherd was also a photographer of some standing, he became more known
as a master printer, staying back to head the business side of
operations; and was somewhat over-shadowed by Bourne, who soon became
the primary photographic expert on India,” adds the note.
Up on the track
Known
for his architectural and topographical photography, especially
mountain and hill views, Bourne’s work immortalised the Indian landscape
and was fervently consumed by the British public — primarily in the
form of postcards, book illustrations and views for albums.
The
nature of this form of distribution meant that the images were primarily
realised in a relatively small size. The show’s catalogue includes an
original essay by Hugh Ashley Rayner, the British author and scholar of
early Indian photography, on the life and works of Bourne. (A limited
edition collector’s portfolio is available for sale, as well as
individual archival pigment prints.)
The spotlight is largely
on Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), showing stretches such as of Clive
Street and Old Court House Street as broad avenues in the city, back in
the late-1800s. There are also sparkling visuals from the Delhi Durbar
ceremonies and stills of historic sites in Old Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri.
Don’t miss the breathtaking shot of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
It’s a singular instance of an image that retains as much of a sense of
glory about its visual qualities as it does about the subject.
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