Path by the Lake, Nasib Bagh
Photograph
1864 (photographed)
1864 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In 1863 Samuel Bourne (1834-1912) arrived in India. He had left his job as a Nottingham bank clerk in order to develop his new career as a photographer. Bourne undertook three treks to Kashmir and the western Himalayas in 1863, 1864 and 1866, during which he photographed his surroundings extensively.
He began his second trip to India, during which this photograph was taken, in March 1864. It was to be a nine-month expedition through the Kashmir region. Throughout his travels Bourne wrote about his first impressions of the places he visited and these writings were published in the British Journal of Photography. Of his first impressions of Nasib Bagh he noted: “On the eastern margin is situated a pretty village, beyond which, across a green tract of meadow, is seen the “Hurree Parbut”, a fortified hill. A little to the right is the “Nasib Bagh”, or Garden of the Morning Breeze, the largest grove of chunar trees in Kashmir. …After gazing for some time on this goodly prospect, I rowed across to the Nasib Bagh, whose cool shade and grassy sward induced me, before leaving Kashmir, to pitch my camp and stay there for nearly a fortnight. I was told that in the day of its glory this grove or garden contained 1,200 chunar trees; at present it contains only about half that number. The view across the lake from this spot is very beautiful, and furnished me while staying here with several instantaneous pictures of cloud effects and water." Bourne, S, Narrative of a Photographic Trip to Kashmir (Cashmere) and the Adjacent Districts, The British Journal of Photography, 4 January 1867, p.4
Towards the end of the 1860s, Bourne established a partnership with fellow photographer and Englishman Charles Shepherd (fl.1858-1878) and in the space of a few years Bourne & Shepherd became the pre-eminent photographic firm in India. By the end of 1870 they had three branches, in Simla, Calcutta and Bombay.
Samuel Bourne’s ability to combine technical skill and artistic vision has led to him being recognised today as one of the most outstanding photographers working in India in the nineteenth century.
He began his second trip to India, during which this photograph was taken, in March 1864. It was to be a nine-month expedition through the Kashmir region. Throughout his travels Bourne wrote about his first impressions of the places he visited and these writings were published in the British Journal of Photography. Of his first impressions of Nasib Bagh he noted: “On the eastern margin is situated a pretty village, beyond which, across a green tract of meadow, is seen the “Hurree Parbut”, a fortified hill. A little to the right is the “Nasib Bagh”, or Garden of the Morning Breeze, the largest grove of chunar trees in Kashmir. …After gazing for some time on this goodly prospect, I rowed across to the Nasib Bagh, whose cool shade and grassy sward induced me, before leaving Kashmir, to pitch my camp and stay there for nearly a fortnight. I was told that in the day of its glory this grove or garden contained 1,200 chunar trees; at present it contains only about half that number. The view across the lake from this spot is very beautiful, and furnished me while staying here with several instantaneous pictures of cloud effects and water." Bourne, S, Narrative of a Photographic Trip to Kashmir (Cashmere) and the Adjacent Districts, The British Journal of Photography, 4 January 1867, p.4
Towards the end of the 1860s, Bourne established a partnership with fellow photographer and Englishman Charles Shepherd (fl.1858-1878) and in the space of a few years Bourne & Shepherd became the pre-eminent photographic firm in India. By the end of 1870 they had three branches, in Simla, Calcutta and Bombay.
Samuel Bourne’s ability to combine technical skill and artistic vision has led to him being recognised today as one of the most outstanding photographers working in India in the nineteenth century.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print from wet collodion negative |
| Brief description | Photograph, 'Path by the Lake, Nasib Bagh', albumen print, Samuel Bourne, India, 1860s |
| Physical description | The photograph shows the path running alongside a lake with boats and figures standing along the path. The branch of a tree extends into the foreground on the right hand side of the image. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Signature and negative number in bottom left hand corner |
| 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 was made in 1864. This print was made before March 1867. |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | In 1863 Samuel Bourne (1834-1912) arrived in India. He had left his job as a Nottingham bank clerk in order to develop his new career as a photographer. Bourne undertook three treks to Kashmir and the western Himalayas in 1863, 1864 and 1866, during which he photographed his surroundings extensively. He began his second trip to India, during which this photograph was taken, in March 1864. It was to be a nine-month expedition through the Kashmir region. Throughout his travels Bourne wrote about his first impressions of the places he visited and these writings were published in the British Journal of Photography. Of his first impressions of Nasib Bagh he noted: “On the eastern margin is situated a pretty village, beyond which, across a green tract of meadow, is seen the “Hurree Parbut”, a fortified hill. A little to the right is the “Nasib Bagh”, or Garden of the Morning Breeze, the largest grove of chunar trees in Kashmir. …After gazing for some time on this goodly prospect, I rowed across to the Nasib Bagh, whose cool shade and grassy sward induced me, before leaving Kashmir, to pitch my camp and stay there for nearly a fortnight. I was told that in the day of its glory this grove or garden contained 1,200 chunar trees; at present it contains only about half that number. The view across the lake from this spot is very beautiful, and furnished me while staying here with several instantaneous pictures of cloud effects and water." Bourne, S, Narrative of a Photographic Trip to Kashmir (Cashmere) and the Adjacent Districts, The British Journal of Photography, 4 January 1867, p.4 Towards the end of the 1860s, Bourne established a partnership with fellow photographer and Englishman Charles Shepherd (fl.1858-1878) and in the space of a few years Bourne & Shepherd became the pre-eminent photographic firm in India. By the end of 1870 they had three branches, in Simla, Calcutta and Bombay. Samuel Bourne’s ability to combine technical skill and artistic vision has led to him being recognised today as one of the most outstanding photographers working in India in the nineteenth century. |
| Other number | 802 - Negative number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 52973 |
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| Record created | August 26, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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