PHOTOGRAPHER(S) - Samuel Bourne & Charles Shepherd (Bourne & Shepherd)

SUBJECT - 19th Century Civil Engineering; Construction of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR)

PERIOD - Circa 1860 (During the construction of the Incline)

CONTENT NOTE - Album of 43 Original Albumen Prints documenting Viaducts, Rock Cuttings, and the engineering feat of the Western Ghats.

ORIGIN - Bombay Presidency, British India

12x15.5x1 In.

This is an exceptionally rare and historically monumental album containing 43 original albumen prints that document the construction of the Bhore Ghaut Railway Incline (connecting Bombay to Poona/Pune). This railway section was hailed as a world-class triumph of civil engineering in the mid-19th century.

The photographs are attributed to Samuel Bourne (active 1863-1870) and Charles Shepherd, founders of the legendary Bourne & Shepherd studio, known for their high-quality photographic documentation of the Indian landscape and infrastructure. The album provides a direct, visual record of this massive undertaking—involving over 40,000 men at its peak—detailing critical stages like the Mhow-ke-Mullee Viaduct and the Rock Cuttings through the challenging Western Ghats. Albums of original construction photographs from this era are highly sought after by collectors of colonial history and early photography.

Non-exportable

Provenance: The Estate of Mangaldas Nathubhai