Mrs. and Miss Lyall, Shimla

1887

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)

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Culture

India

Medium

albumen print

Measurements

Image: 19.9 x 27 cm (7 13/16 x 10 5/8 in.); Paper: 19.9 x 27 cm (7 13/16 x 10 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2016.266.7

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Location

Not on view

Description

A number of Deen Dayal’s Simla portraits include rickshaws, which were items of great novelty, being found in India only in Simla at the time. The two-wheeled, human-powered passenger cart first appeared in Japan around 1870 and was introduced to Simla around 1880 by a Scottish missionary. The town’s steep hills required four drivers, two to pull and two to push. Horse-drawn buggies were another common means of transport. Miss Lyall and Mrs. Lyall also appear in the photograph, suggesting that they had a significant personal relationship with the purchaser of the album.