4023 - Ceylon

Ceylon Photographers: Scowen & Co. (active 1876-1893), The Colombo Apothecaries Co. Ltd. (active ca. 1892-1920s), and unknown. Portraits and “Types” from Ceylon. 1880s–1900. 6 albumen prints. Various sizes between 26,3 x 21 cm and 22,3 x 29 cm. 3 prints credited in the negative “Scowen & Co., Ceylon”; 1 marked “C.A. Co. Ltd.”; 1 print numbered “773”. Handwritten captions include “Kandyan Chiefs & Ladies. Ceylon.” and “Brahman Man Woman”; the original caption "Veddahs" appears in the negative on one print. The group includes formal portraits of Kandyan families and a young girl, a couple in ceremonial dress, a coffee picker, and a portrait of two Vedda men. It brings together commissioned or carefully staged portraiture with commercial images made for the late nineteenth-century travel market. The historical captions reflect the colonial vocabulary through which Ceylon’s communities were then marketed. – Some mounts with handling creases, scattered foxing, soiling, edge tears and small losses; one mount with old adhesive staining on the verso; prints with occasional surface scuffs and scratches; several sheets slightly curled, otherwise the prints retain strong tones and good detail.