Photographer Unknown - John McCosh (?), c.1848-1853

MANDHARDEVI TEMPLE, WAI TALUKA, SATARA DISTRICT, INDIA, c.1850. Salt paper print from a calotype negative, image size, 230 x 180mm, trimmed at the corners and with manuscript title in ink, and a small pencil annotation verso.

The style of the image, paper trimming and borders of this photograph could be indicative of an attribution to John McCosh, however it should be noted that this image has not been compared to the album of McCosh's work in the National Army Museum, London.

John McCosh (1805-1885) was a pioneer of both military photography and the photography of south-east Asia. During his service as a surgeon with the Bengal Army in the 2nd Sikh War (1848-1849) and the 2nd Burma War (1852-1853), he succeeded in taking a remarkable series of calotype pictures which are among the earliest military photographs in existence. Limited at first to portraiture, his work illustrates his wide-ranging interest and artistic eye, with subjects including British military personnel and their families, as well as local people. As his skill improved, he was able to include larger landscapes and architectural photographs.

https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1962-04-3-294