Francis Frith was one of the most successful commercial photographers from the 1850s and 1860s. He also established what was to become the largest photographic printing business in England. This image is part of the V&A's Francis Frith 'Universal Series' archive which consists of over 4000 whole-plate albumen prints predominantly of historical and topographical sites. Images such as these were highly desirable throughout the 1850s and 1860s.

It is now known that nearly all of the works bearing the F. Frith and Co. stamp were not taken by Frith himself, but by one of his travelling employees. Photographers associated with Frith's 'Universal Series' include Robert Napper (Andalusia), Frank Mason Good (Egypt) and Frederick William Sutton and Hugo Lewis Pearson (Japan). In addition to hiring his own photographers, Frith also bought the negative stocks of established photographers such as Roger Fenton and Francis Bedford.

Frith's growing business coincided with many technological developments taking place within the field of photography. These developments changed and expanded the audience for photography and Frith's operation was well-prepared to provide for it and, it can be argued, worked to develop it employing a diverse range of publishing channels. Targeted towards a market that would later adopt the postcard as the ideal format for its needs, the 'Universal Series' forms a bridge between the initial low volume craft/art production associated with photography of the 1850s and the more commercial mass production work of the latter half of the century.

Government House in Calcutta was designed by Captain Charles Wyatt (1758-1819). Lieutenant (later Captain) Charles Wyatt of the Bengal Engineers was a nephew of James Wyatt, the successful and prolific architect of many British country houses. He arrived in Bengal in 1782 and ended his career there in 1803 as Superintendent of Public Works. Government House was commissioned by the Governor-General of India, the Marquis of Wellesley, who considered that the existing residence was insufficiently grand. Wyatt’s design was based loosely on James Paine’s Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, but the plan was significantly different, to take account of the climate and the different social requirements. Begun in 1799, the building was completed in 1803.