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[HARDINGE, Sir Charles]
The Viceregal Visit to Jodhpur.
Superb album commemorating the visit of Sir Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, Viceroy of India 1910-16, to Jodhpur in 1914. The album contains an excellent range of views and portraits, including a fine studio portrait of the young Maharaja Sumer Singh; formal group portraits with the viceroy, Lady Hardinge and Sir Pratap Singh; views of the palace, Mehrangarh Fort, troop reviews, and the inauguration of the Powlett Nobles' and Elgin Rajput School by the viceroy and his wife. Hardinge's tenure was one of significant achievements: the visit of King-Emperor George V for the Delhi durbar of 1911, and the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1912. Although his handling of Indian troops in World War I has been criticised, and he was also the subject of several assassination attempts by Indian nationalists, overall his viceroyalty was marked by an amelioration of relations between the British administrators and the Indians.
Landscape folio (490 × 375 mm) red morocco album, elaborately gilt on the upper board with title as above, the arms of the Marwar Durbar, or Darbar, the regional administrative body of Jodhpur; and the Star of India, all within ornate panelling with scrolled foliate corner pieces, the panelling repeated on the lower board. Around 85 silver gelatin prints, various formats up to 365 × 280 mm, mounted on card leaves, two panoramas - a three-part view of the city, and a two-part view of the crowds outside the city awaiting the Viceroy's arrival. All tissue-guarded, the guards having the studio's blind-stamps. Just a little rubbed externally, but a very handsome piece in excellent state of preservation.
