The Upper Himmalayahs. View on the New Road between India and China. Mt. Pangi with the Snowy Peaks of China in the Distance

Series Title: Photographs of Northern India

The Upper Himmalayahs. View on the New Road between India and China. Mt. Pangi with the Snowy Peaks of China in the Distance

1863 or 1866

Samuel Bourne

(British, 1834–1912)

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Culture

England

Medium

albumen print

Credit Line

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2024.5.19

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Samuel Bourne, the author of most the images in this album, was a banker in England before he moved to India to become a professional photographer.

Description

The alpine landscape of Pahari India fascinated British collectors of photographic albums in the 1800s, who enjoyed observational travel and gaining knowledge through images of distant places. This album contains 50 photographs of Indian monuments and landscapes, which became part of the British Empire less than a decade before Samuel Bourne photographed this scene.

Two men on the road reveal the immense scale of the mountains and narrowness of the road, thereby satisfying British tastes for the sublime and wondrous. They probably served local guides and porters who carried Bourne’s glass plates, chemicals, and other photographic equipment.