Shimla. Houses of European Residents, Looking East
1866
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1866
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a quiet hill town at dawn: red-tiled roofs, white bungalows, and a few tall pines poking above the mist. Bourne lugged a heavy camera up the Himalayas in the 1860s. These photos were meant as souvenirs for British officers, but they also froze a moment before modern roads and hotels changed the place forever. If you like this kind of quiet record, look up the subject of england—lots of early photos show how the empire looked before it faded.
