As forms of photographic circulation within the British Empire, Indian ‘picture postcards’ are beginning to receive academic attention. This is a much-needed intervention in studying how photographic inventions were adopted/adapted and circulated within imperial spaces like India. However, what we have here are two ‘non-photographic’ postcards from Delhi in the 1920s and 1930s (see below for the second postcard). These business postcards are an excellent window into Delhi’s economic and commercial networks at the time.
The one above is from ‘The Delhi Cloth and General Mills Company’. This was set up in 1899 and was one of 4 cotton spinning and weaving mills in Delhi at the turn of the century (I wrote a separate post on mills in Delhi on the 16th of February). At a fundamental level, this postcard is a smooth form of advertising. It lists the products manufactured and presents easy access to phone and telegram information, presumably (but not solely) intended for European audiences and business concerns. The name of the addressee seems to be Indian cotton commissioning (?) agents from Ujjain and the back has the cost of some items ordered.
The second postcard seems to better the first inasmuch as it presents information in Urdu, Devanagari and English. This is Pearelal Darogamal, lace merchants in Johri Bazar and it lists what they do in Devanagari. The Urdu text on the left simply mentions that they are ‘gota wale’ (lace merchants) in Johri bazar. This postcard is again used for a business transaction to Luchmangarh Sikar (Laxmangarh in Sikar, Rajasthan) and doubles up as an advertisement or business card.
Both reveal the fascinating commercial networks that were forged through business postcards; they enabled the circulation of information and the collapse of distance. Ultimately, goods could be exchanged in a timely manner, reducing risks and ensuring profitability.
I intended to do another post on commercial networks in Delhi in due course. See you next Friday.
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