An interesting recent article, Clicking Up the Pieces, in the Times of India picks up the fascinating thread of one of the most famous photographic studios in the world, Bourne & Shepherd in Kolkata.

Still around a century and a half after Samuel Bourne took his famous albumen photographs, the firm faces formidable obstacles after a fire that apparently destroyed most of its holdings. The famous building itself seems to be in a state of terrible disrepair.

Fortunately, photographs were meant to be reproduced, and it should be possible for the studio to rebuild its archive from the thousands of Bourne & Shepherd prints scattered across the globe.

Whatever happens to the studio, it is worth pondering the incredible success of Bourne's photographs. More of the articles, exhibitions and other content on this blog concerns Bourne than any other photographer. It remains astounding that one of the earliest photographers in the subcontinent built such a brand around his name that he remains the favorite among collectors of Raj photography a century later. The reason must be the quality of the photographs, the business acumen that let the studio under successive owners become the preminenet Raj studio and disperse its images so widely, and of course, good luck, at least until 1991.

Although there is no great book in English on Bourne (the brief Samuel Bourne: Images of India is out of print), his photographs are more widely reproduced in Raj photography collections than anyone else's (for example, India Through the Lens). Thanks to the efforts of people like High Ashley Rayner, we also now have a meticulously researched compilation of Bourne's famous account of his own work, Photographic Journeys in the Himalayas.

There is a lot more research to do on Bourne, and a lot more work to let the famous studio reclaim its heritage and keep operating.

Above:Samuel Bourne, The Well at Cawnpore.