Simla, from Jakko
Photograph
1863 (photographed)
1863 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The British photographer Samuel Bourne arrived in India in January 1863. He travelled from Calcutta and set up his base in the northern hill station of Simla. He wrote about his travels in the British Journal of photography and of his first impressions of Simla he noted:
I must confess to disappointment on my first view of Simla. A mass of apparently tumble-down native dwellings on the top of a ridge, with bungalows scattered here and there on the sides of a mountain covered partially with fir trees, without a single yard of level cultivated land – such was the appearance of Simla at five miles’ distance, and I naturally began to wonder where I would find the series of views for which I had undertaken this long journey. All the snow had not yet (March 1st) disappeared from the top of Jakko, which is 8000 feet above the sea, and on which the English love of pure air has induced them to build their houses, even to the very summit.
A further acquaintance with Simla has not altogether banished the disappointment it first gave me, yet it is not to be condemned. If has afforded me a considerable number of pictures of a certain class, while as regards the climate, nothing could be finer….
Bourne, S, A Photographic journey through the Higher Himalayas, The British Journal of Photography, 1 September 1863, Pg 345
I must confess to disappointment on my first view of Simla. A mass of apparently tumble-down native dwellings on the top of a ridge, with bungalows scattered here and there on the sides of a mountain covered partially with fir trees, without a single yard of level cultivated land – such was the appearance of Simla at five miles’ distance, and I naturally began to wonder where I would find the series of views for which I had undertaken this long journey. All the snow had not yet (March 1st) disappeared from the top of Jakko, which is 8000 feet above the sea, and on which the English love of pure air has induced them to build their houses, even to the very summit.
A further acquaintance with Simla has not altogether banished the disappointment it first gave me, yet it is not to be condemned. If has afforded me a considerable number of pictures of a certain class, while as regards the climate, nothing could be finer….
Bourne, S, A Photographic journey through the Higher Himalayas, The British Journal of Photography, 1 September 1863, Pg 345
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative |
| Brief description | Photograph of Simla, India by Samuel Bourne, 1860s |
| Physical description | This photograph is of the town of Simla taken from a high viewpoint. The viewer looks down the hill onto the rooftops of the houses that are spread across the hilside. Slightly to the right is the church which stands out against the other buildings. There are trees in the foreground and mountains in the background. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | signature and negative number in the bottom centre |
| Object history | This photograph was initially part of the photographic collection held in the National Art Library. The markings on the mount are an indication of the history of the object, its movement through the museum and the way it is categorised. The mount is white. Bottom Left: Label from Bourne catalogue with some handwritten text. |
| Production | The negative made in 1863, this print made before March 1867 |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | The British photographer Samuel Bourne arrived in India in January 1863. He travelled from Calcutta and set up his base in the northern hill station of Simla. He wrote about his travels in the British Journal of photography and of his first impressions of Simla he noted: I must confess to disappointment on my first view of Simla. A mass of apparently tumble-down native dwellings on the top of a ridge, with bungalows scattered here and there on the sides of a mountain covered partially with fir trees, without a single yard of level cultivated land – such was the appearance of Simla at five miles’ distance, and I naturally began to wonder where I would find the series of views for which I had undertaken this long journey. All the snow had not yet (March 1st) disappeared from the top of Jakko, which is 8000 feet above the sea, and on which the English love of pure air has induced them to build their houses, even to the very summit. A further acquaintance with Simla has not altogether banished the disappointment it first gave me, yet it is not to be condemned. If has afforded me a considerable number of pictures of a certain class, while as regards the climate, nothing could be finer…. Bourne, S, A Photographic journey through the Higher Himalayas, The British Journal of Photography, 1 September 1863, Pg 345 |
| Bibliographic reference | Bourne, S, A Photographic journey through the Higher Himalayas, The British Journal of Photography, 1 September 1863, Pg 345 |
| Other number | 18 - Negative number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 52823 |
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| Record created | October 24, 2006 |
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