PHOTOGRAPHERS IN FOCUS
Linnaeus Tripe
Linnaeus Tripe (1822-1902) is known for his photographs of India and Burma taken in the 1850s. It was the time that nascent photographic processes were advancing, and photography was increasingly recognised for its usefulness in making apparently fast and 'truthful' records.
Quickly following the wave of interest in photography in England, France and America, in the mid-1850s Photographic societies were set up in the main cities of India. British photographers such as Felice Beato and Samuel Bourne came to India specifically to photograph for the western market. British and Indian photographers began to set up commercial studios in the main cities in India, and amateur photography flourished.
The photographs below are by Tripe and his contemporaries. Click on the small images for larger versions.
The East India Company
In the early 17th century the East India Company began setting up trading posts in India. Through making a system of strategic alliances with ruling princes, the company had become the unofficial governing body of most of India by the beginning of the 19th century. India was divided into three presidencies: Bombay, Madras and Bengal (Based in Calcutta). All of these governments in India reported to the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London.
After the uprising of the Indian army against the British in 1857 (termed the 'Mutiny' by the British), which had been suppressed by 1858, the East India Company relinquished its control of government to the British Crown in November 1858.
Tripe as official Photographer
The British Government in India adopted photography as the official mode of documenting local buildings, landscapes and peoples. Officially these photographs formed a record of India. Commercially they fed the appetites of the British public who were eager to find out more about India.
As official photographer for the Madras Government, Tripe set out his mandate to 'illustrat[e] in a complete and systematic manner the state of a country by means of Photography', to create a record 'that at some distant time may afford a comparison between India present and some India yet future, when those changes in men and manners inaugurated by the Railway and a better education, have taken place; and if the change be as rapid in this country as such changed workers effect elsewhere, now is precisely the time for it.' (letter dated 1856).