March 13, 2025, by Chloe
Stunning slides saved from skip
Here at Manuscripts and Special Collections, we hold many visually striking items, but an intriguing set of over 300 glass slides showing views of India – which depict monuments, landscapes and people – stand out even against this tough competition. The photographs date to approximately the 1860s and 1870s, but unfortunately, we can’t be certain about the provenance of the images: who created or collected them or why; or even, in many cases, the exact locations they are depicting. However, we do have some theories…
![Plate showing several ornately decorated buildings, the main building being in the centre of the plate. Labelled 'Palitana' [Palitana is in Gujarat, India].](https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscripts/files/2025/03/16-30188m-1-scaled.jpg)
MS 148/12/5 Plate showing several ornately decorated buildings, labelled ‘Palitana’ [Palitana is in Gujarat, India]; c.1870.
We know that some of the photographs were taken by Edmund David Lyon, a professional photographer in India with a studio in Ooty (then known as Ootacamund), which is in the Nilgris district of Tamil Nadu. He was appointed as the general photographer for the colonial government of Madras 1867, and, late in the same year, was commissioned by both the Madras and Bombay Governments to photograph archaeological and architectural antiquities in South India. In order to fulfil that brief, he set out on a nine month tour of the region from 1867 to 1868. Lyon went on to exhibit his work at the Photographic Society of London the following year, and eventually published a selection of the photographs in his ‘Notes to Accompany a Series of Photographs Designed to Illustrate the Ancient Architecture of Western India’ in 1871. It was by matching our slides with photographs from this publication that we were able to identify Lyon as the creator of at least some of our 300 images.
MS 148/12/12 Plate showing people near to an ornate minaret. Labelled ‘Kootab Delhi’ and ‘Qutub Minar’ [the structure is located at Qutub/Qutb Minar in Delhi]; c.1870.
Furthermore, we know that some of them were published in 1873 in a book titled ‘An Account of the Primitive Tribes and Monuments of the Nilgiris’ by James Wilkinson Breeks, Commissioner of the Nilgiris, which was about the indigenous people of that region and their culture. The book was edited and published posthumously by his wife, Susan Maria Breeks, though its unclear if the photographs featured within were taken by him, her, someone else, or were pre-existing works.
MS 148/12/30 Plate showing an ornate triangular-like temple. Labelled ‘Bylore’ and stamped ‘India Museum No.1521’; c.1870.
Finally, it is believed that some could have been taken by Eugene Clutterbuck Impey (1830-1904), who was a soldier and administrator based in India. He took up a post in the city of Alwar in north-eastern Rajasthan in 1858, remaining there for five years. During this period, he took photographs of many architectural and landscape scenes, which he eventually published. Unfortunately, we haven’t got a copy of his book to compare to our images, but the dates and themes of his work nonetheless put him in the frame as a possible creator.
MS 148/12/197 Plate showing part of a towered building with decorated pillars on its roof; c.1870.
But the mystery doesn’t end there. The slides eventually ended up in the School of Geography here at the university – we don’t know how or why – and had actually been put in a skip during a clear-out when they were rescued by Henry Swinnerton, a Professor of Geology at the University, and later donated to us. And thank goodness they were, because they’re stunning images!
MS 148/12/93 Plate showing an intricate stone carving of people and a bull; c.1870.
Digital copies of all the slides are available to view in our reading room, so if you fancy having a go at figuring out the locations they depict, or the identities of the photographers, why not come and take a look? To find out more, or to book an appointment today, please contact us at mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk.
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