View of Little Quoin, proposed landing place from the sea. The photograph was part of a Report by David W. Hood, Supplementary to that of a Committee of Enquiry on the Lighting and Buoyage of the Persian Gulf.1 photographDimensions: 160 x 210mm.
Genre/Subject Matter:View of a narrow street in Baghdad. A man leads a donkey bearing a woman towards the camera at centre, while groups of people stand at either side of the alleyway and in the distant background. The buildings on either side of the street are made of brick and feature projecting mashrabiyyas of wood and metal.Inscriptions:Ink, below image: 'View in Bagdad.'Pencil, alongside image at upper right: ‘36’; ‘14’1 b&w silver gelatin printDimensions:173 x 153 mmCondition:The print is in good condition with minor surface dirt throughout.Foliation:‘36’
Genre/Subject Matter:This full-length portrait shows ten men, described as pilgrims from Martapura, South Kalimantan, in Indonesia on the island of Borneo. The men squat face forward, looking towards the camera.From right to left the men wear: a white
thawb, patterned shawl and turban; a white
thawband a patterned turban; a dark jacket over a white
thawb, patterned turban a ring on the little finger of his right hand; a dark jacket and patterned turban; a patterned turban, dark jacket and checked sarong; a patterned turban and white shirt; a dark jacket over a white
thawband patterned turban; a white
thawband patterned turban; a polka-dot shirt and dark turban; a dark jacket over a mid-coloured
thawband turban. The man at centre holds two scrolls in his hands while the man third from left holds some form of handkerchief in his hands.The men are photographed in a courtyard-like space with plants – some in wide wooden pots – foliage and a window, fronted by bars, visible in the background.The negative has had hand-work applied, causing it to take on a soft-shaded paint-like quality in places.Temporal Context:The photograph was taken between September and December 1884, according to Durkje van der Wal in his publication
Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje: The First Western Photographer in Mecca, 1884-1885, Amsterdam : Manfred & Hanna Heiting Fund, Rijksmuseum, 2011, p. 20. This attribution is based on unpublished diaries and correspondence in the Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje Archive, University of Leiden Library.Inscriptions:Printed above image, in ink:XXIXPrinted beneath image, in ink:'Pilger aus Martapura (Süd-Borneo).'A circular 'British Museum' blind stamp is located in the lower left corner.1 collotype printDimensions:192 x 251 mmFormat:1 collotype printCondition:The print is in good condition.Foliation:‘XXIX’
A black and white aerial photograph of Mattra [Muttrah] with a landing ground, the track to Mattra and the road to Muscat marked in pen.1 photographDimensions: 130mm x 130mm
Black and white photographs taken at Sirriah, also spelt Sirriyah in the accompanying text on folio 14. Both photographs contain a single human figure each, providing a sense of the scale of the constructed dam.2 photographic printsDimensions:83 x 294 mm.
Aerial photograph of Khori Rori [Khawr Rawrī, Oman] from the north, with captions and arrows highlighting notable features.Photographer unknown. Prepared by naval staff in the Admiralty's Naval Intelligence Division.1 photographMaterials: 1 black and white photograph.Dimensions: 93 x 141mm, on sheet 328 x 202mm.
Genre/Subject MatterThis image depicts the Bab ‘Anbari, one of eight gates in the outer wall of the city of Medina al-Munawarah, each of which is listed in the surrounding prose on the right-hand side of the mount. In the distance, through the arch of the gate, the minarets of the Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) are visible.The writer of the prose asserts that the majority of pilgrims on the hadj would have entered the city through this gate, located in the southwest of the city. The significant role played by Ottoman troops in overseeing the hadj during this period is indicated by the reference in the surrounding prose, the prominent position of Ottoman insignia above the gate, including the
toughraof Sultan Abdulhamid II and the inclusion of an Ottoman soldier, posed in the open archway.InscriptionsRecto:Upper centre: 'Picture of the Bab 'Anbari'‘How beloved is this Bab 'Anbari;The star of the pilgrims' eyesIndeed, it is the main gate of MedinaIt seeks you and is your goal.’To the right and left of the image:‘Medina, the radiant, has eight gates:1) Bab al-Quba2) Bab al-'Awali3) Bab al-Jum'a4) Bab al-Majidi5) Bab al-Shami6) Bab al-Qubba7) Bab al-Saghir8) Bab al-'AnbarThe Bab 'Anbari is the gate by which pilgrims on the hajj and pilgrims to the tomb of the Prophet generally enter Medina the Radiant. This gate has been built with great splendour. On its front is the royal insignia, and above flutters the flag with the royal banner in a wondrously alluring manner. This flag is raised on Fridays. Here, as at the other gates, there is a Turkish [Ottoman] guard from the royal army. It is not possible to describe either the state of the lovers of the Prophet when they see this gate or the rapture of the fervour in their hearts. The joy they experience on reaching here is beyond expression. It is a matter to which the saying, “By God, you will not know the delight of this wine until you taste it,” is applicable. This gate is bigger than all the other gates. From here the minarets of the sacred sanctuary are visible.’Lower centre: 'H. A. Mirza & Sons, Photographers, Chandni Chowk, Delhi'Lower right corner, along right edge, in pencil: ‘8’ ‘145’Verso:In pen, upper right corner:IO/1454th [?] [? 07?] [illegible]Recto:In red ink on upper left of image and – faintly – beneath lower left intersection of cruciform double-barred frame:رجسطری شده[superscript ط]LabelsLabels (verso):‘145 H. A. Mirza and Sons, Photographers.نقشه باب عنبری (Naqsha-i-Báb-i-Ambri. Aphoto of the Báb-i-Ambri, one of the gatesat Medina, with a brief description.) Onesheet.
Published by the Photographers:Delhi.(Octr. 15, 1907.) 14 x 18º.Litho. Ist Edition.Price, Re. I, A. 4.’2 – Ink stamp‘India Office19 May 1909Library.’Other NotesThe image was formerly referred to as ‘The Bab-i-Ambri, one of the gates at Medina'1 b&w photographic print held within a blue card window mountDimensionsMount (external): 348 x 445 mmMount (internal): 202 x 276 mm [landscape]FormatPhotographic print held within window mount in landscape formatMaterialsMottled blue-tinted window mount, card, gelatin silver print, indigo ink (printed), red ink (hand-painted)ConditionMount is mildly bowed, with very light staining along all edges. Very light staining is also visible on the paper verso backing, which is under-laid by cotton strips.The print shows signs of extensive toning and is distorted gently throughout. Blemishes throughout the sky area result from a combination of those introduced during the printing process and post-printing surface residues.Foliation8 (145)ProcessGelatin silver print
Subject Matter:The photograph shows a six-wheel flatbed truck, with four-wheel trailer attached, used by the California Arabian Standard Oil Company at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The truck is moving along a dirt or sand track, and is seen from behind, possibly from the rear window of another moving vehicle. A long flat metal structure is being carried by the truck. Three men, dressed in Western attire of shirts and trousers, can be seen standing on the truck footplate and truck bed, while another two men run alongside the truck, one to its left and the other to its right. Behind the truck, on the far side of the track, a grassy embankment rises, crowned with shrubs and small trees.Inscriptions:In the bottom-right corner of the photograph: ‘K-2840’1 b&w silver-gelatin printDimensions:129 mm x 177 mmCondition: The photograph is generally in good condition. The left-hand edge of the image is discoloured, possibly as a result of overexposure to light. Along the top-edge of the photograph, and on the rear, there are rust marks where a paperclip was once attached to the photograph.Foliation:The photograph bears a circled 60. The folio number that should be used for referencing purposes is on the plastic sleeve in which the photograph is held (52).Process:Silver-gelatin
Genre/Subject Matter:General view of the British Telegraph Station at Jask. Typical of British Colonial architecture, the installation consists of at least five two-storey structures featuring round arches.The foreground and middle-ground is made up of a stoney plain with little vegetation.Inscriptions:Upper right, in pencil alongside image: 'b', '41'Below image, in pen: 'Telegraph Station, Jask'1 b&w albumen printDimensions:124 x 205 mmFormat:Albumen print on paperCondition:The print is in good condition with staining and light creasing in the sky area in the upper left and right corners and minor surface dirt throughout. Inscriptions on the verso are faintly visible on the recto.Foliation:‘b’ (crossed out); ‘41’Process:Albumen print
Genre/Subject Matter:Black and white photograph showing a gravel plain the foreground, and hills in the background.Inscriptions:Upper right, above image, in pen: ‘No 2.’Left, alongside image, in pen: ‘Lofty drifts of loose sand’ and ‘Gravel plain with sand’Right, alongside image, in pen: ‘Hills partially covered by sand drifts’Centre, below image, in pen: ‘Rocky ground. View to N. of Manzil’.1 photographDimensions: 105 x 149mm
An aerial photograph taken during a flight by the Royal Air Force from Gilgit to Risalpur on 8 November 1934 at 10:53 at approximately 10,200 feet. This photograph shows a view of Haramosh from Chichuboi with three RAF Hawker Hart aircraft visible to the left of the centre of the print; the tip of one of the imaging aircraft's wings is visible in the foreground.The photograph was taken by a technical camera; the following gauges are visible on the photographic print: an altitude meter indicating the height of the aircraft, spirit levels showing the pitch of the aircraft, a counter indicating the number of exposures, and a watch indicating the time the photograph was shot.On the reverse of the print is a stamp reading ‘ROYAL AIR FORCE CROWN COPYRIGHT RESERVED’, No. 2 Indian Wing Station, dated 23 January 1935.See folios 131-141 for particulars on the flight in question.1 photographDimensions: 218 x 84mm
Genre/Subject Matter:View of the SS
Mantuaat Aden. The steamship is in the centre of the photograph with a tug boat alongside the stern. Two further large boats are visible behind and alongside the steamer at right. Immediately right of centre a small boat is visible in the distant middle-ground. A bird flies across the scene at left.Inscriptions:Lower left, below image, in pen: ‘Aden.’Upper left, above image, in pencil, crossed-out: ‘b’Lower right, alongside image, in pencil: ‘17’Lower right, below image, in pen: ‘S.S. "Mantua"’,‘(Dec. 1926)’1 b&w silver gelatin printDimensions:70 x 96 mmCondition:The image is in good condition.Foliation:'b'; '18'Process:Silver gelatin print