In 1863 Samuel Bourne (1834-1912) arrived in India. He had left his job as a Nottingham bank clerk in order to develop a 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. Throughout his travels he wrote about his first impressions of the places he visited and these writings were published in the British Journal of Photography.

This photograph by Bourne depicts a landscape with date trees near Lahore, and local people with their horses and carts in the foreground. During his time in India Bourne sought to capture ‘picturesque’ views of the scenery he encountered. Such compositions would often focus on idyllic landscapes with the inclusion of people or manmade structures to provide a sense of scale.

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.