Wiele and Klein was one of the best known photographic studios in South India, and survived in different forms and under different owners from the 1880s until the 1940s. Based primarily in Madras (Chennai), they also had studios in Bangalore (Bengaluru) and Ootacamund among other locations.

Like a number of photographic enterprises in British India, the firm was actually run by non-British Europeans, in this case Germans.

Their fate during the first World War, when they suddenly found themselves enemies of the host power, is one of the many fascinating twists covered in this extensive essay. Using postcards, carte des visites, archival notices and other documentation, the story of this firm is told in detail for the first time by a scholar with access to materials - many in Germany - that have not been seen before.

The article was first published in December 2008 in the Indo-Asiatische Zeitschrift, Berlin.

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