Can anyone help my Canadian friend and fellow blogger, Allan Cook? One of his direct ancestors, Sergeant William J. Cook (third from left in this parade picture) served in India, where this parade-ground photograph was taken.
Allan scanned this photograph from a family album and he says there is nothing written behind the photo, apart from: ``(Grampy) Sgt. Wm. J. Cook, in India,'' but he informed me the photograph is believed to have been taken around 1880, in Jhansi.
I asked Allan to give me as much background as he could and this was his reply: ``There are no watermarks or photographer/developers' names on the photo front or back as there sometimes are for shots of this vintage, but oddly enough the photo itself seems to have been pasted directly onto the wallpaper at some point in time ...''
Are there any clues in the picture? Are there military history buffs who might be able to give us some vital information? If you want to see a full-sized version of the photograph, please go to Allan's blogpost dated 31 March at Allan Cook.
4 comments:
Nothing screams colonialism like a pith helmet.
Its a fashion statement long overdue for a comeback.
I'm afraid I can't help with deciphering the pic Dave but its a great old shot, are they pulling a wagon or is that a cannon behind those horses?
G'day Mur,
I'm actually hoping that the helmets or uniforms will provide a clue somewhere ....
You're right about the fashion statement. And no, offither, we're not taking the pith!
Cheers
David
Thanks David, and all your readers, for considering my mystery shot.
Two new clues:
Taken in the 1880's
And what I think may have been a location: Johnsie. (Or Jonsy, or Chonsi, or something like that...)
Allan,
This is getting interesting.
The region would be Jhansi, and your reference to the 1880's could well be something to do with the aftermath of the 1857 "Indian Mutiny".
Keep digging and feed us some more info from time to time!
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