The South Asia Section of the Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania recently acquired from a bookdealer a photograph album consisting of 60 photographs of Calcutta taken in 1947. Who the photographer is, we do not, unfortunately, know, despite the interesting glosses accompanying each photograph. There are no statements of authorship in the album or on any of the photographs themselves. However, it seems more than likely, given not only the subject matter of the American GI, but the very style of the photos whose subject matter is the American GI, strongly suggests that the photographer was a military photographer. Some of the captions as well sound like annotations that would be found in a typical military magazine. The even number of the photographs, sixty, also suggests that a professional was the compiler, rather than simply pulling together an odd assortment of photographs and putting them randomly in an album. The album begins with several general long shots of Calcutta and ends with a picture of dhobi-s (washermen) washing clothes. The text accompanying the last photograph also sounds as if the author intended to finish with that picture of one of the "great mysteries of India."

The annotations have been included because of their intrinsic interest not only to the photographs but to a 'typical' American impression of India at this time.

I have included below a few recent titles published on Calcutta which the reader may be interested in consulting and comparing with this collection of photographs. The call numbers are to the volumes held by the Van Pelt Library.

If you have any comments about this set of photographs, I would be happy to hear them. Please send any comments to David Nelson (nelsond@pobox.upenn.edu), South Asia Bibliographer, Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania.

Bibliography on Calcutta and the US involvment with India around the World War II
 

Author:	Martin, David William.
Title:	The changing face of Calcutta / David William Martin.
Publisher:	New Delhi : Vikas Pub. House : Distributors, UBS Publishers' Distributors, 1997.
Description:	xxv, 232 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 25 cm.
Location:	Van Pelt Library
Call Number:	DS486.C2 M215 1997
Author:	Moorhouse, Geoffrey, 1931-
Title:	Calcutta.
Publisher:	New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich [1972, c1971]
Description:	xv, 376 p. illus. 22 cm.
Location:	Van Pelt Library
Call Number:	DS486.C2 M63 1972
Author:	Thankappan Nair, P.
Title:	A history of Calcutta's streets / P. Thankappan Nair.
Publisher:	Calcutta : Firma KLM, 1987.
Description:	xxiv, xxxii, 992 p., xxxi p. of plates : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.
Location:	Van Pelt Library
Call Number:	DS486.C2 T463 1986 v.2
Author:	Clymer, Kenton J.
Title:	Quest for freedom : the United States and India's independence
Publisher:	New York : Columbia University Press, 1995
Description:	Book xxi, 393 p. ; 24 cm.
Location:	Van Pelt Library
Call Number:	DS486.C2 T463 1986 v.2