In the genre of coffee table books, this sepia toned catalog of photographs is perhaps the more unusual. The book, a culmination of a decade of research, unravels the untold story of two of the finest photographers of the British Raj. Interwoven through this narrative is a fascinating history of the nascent science of photography.

William Baker and John Burke were among the earliest war correspondents in the Indian subcontinent. Pioneers in their field, they chronicled important events in a turbulent era of world wars and imperial durbars. Baker arrived in India in 1850 and opted out of the military service nine years later. In 1861 he became one of the first commercial photographers in Peshawar and in the North-West Frontier, the area between British India and what was at that time Afghanistan (modern day Pakistan). There he partnered with a young apothecary, John Burke, and over the next few decades they became the first ever commercial photographers to witness and catalog more wars, discoveries, news events and human diversity than any of their peers.
The high quality of their work and the rich composition of their images are immediately apparent. The chemicals and procedures they used have aged better than most others from this period. By 1871, the photographic practice of W. Baker & Co. officially became Baker & Burke. They established offices in Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Murree.

For the purposes of this book, the author, Omar Khan, has chosen to give more prominence to Burke, though Baker established the initial business. He refers to the duo as Burke and Baker. Khan believes that Burke’s place in the history of photography is perhaps more vital than he has been given credit for. Burke’s portraits of vanquished native rulers, local inhabitants, and triumphant British army contingents reach out with passion and sincerity more than a century later. He was also the more prolific of the two photographers. Burke’s photographs were often featured as engravings in the mass market London weeklies like the Graphic and the Illustrated London News.

From Kashmir to Kabul tracks the career of these two intrepid photographers in easily delineated chronological sections. Following in their footsteps we can take a peek into a region and an era that till very recently had all but been ignored. These early pictures reflect the artistry of these two men who made use of elaborate compositions, using light and human bodies in a very studied manner, to give depth and character to their photographs.

Photography came to British India just after the invention of the salt paper print process in Europe in 1839. Nearly all photographers were experimenting with chemicals, formats and bulky cameras. The success of early commercial photography depended on a combination of factors: the knowledge and practice of chemistry, aesthetic taste, access to customers and marketing and organizational skills.

Some of the most interesting and beautiful photographs from the Baker & Burke catalogs are of Murree, a small town on a hillside spur at the edge of the Himalayas. The Mall and the Forest, From Fir Hill, looking south, is perhaps the most evocative and romantic picture of this genre. It was from their headquarters in Murree that Burke and Baker ventured into the lush valleys of Kashmir. It’s stunning visual beauty made it one of the best selling photographic subjects of that time. The alpine nature of Kashmir was as appealing to the heat-crazed Britons as to the Mughals. Furthermore, landscape photography was considered the finest form of the new medium, its best claim to art. As a result the firm of Baker & Burke offered more photographs of Kashmir than of any other location in India.

The Kashmir section of the book is perhaps the most splendid and beautiful. A century and a half later one can almost feel the glacial air of the mountains, enjoy the majesty of the Himalayas, and hear the gurgling of the brooks. Burke, in particular, took some stunning pictures of the Kashmiri people, considered to be by many, a very handsome race.

In 1873 the partnership of Baker & Burke was dissolved. John Burke established himself independently and continued to be in the business for the next 20 years or so. Baker continued to run his business for a few more years but evidently stopped photography sometime after 1875. He died in 1880.

The long history of Burke and Baker finally came to an end with the death of John Burke in 1900. Few of their photographs survive in Pakistan or India but Omar Khan’s book definitely brings them home to us.

Reviewed by Nandika Madgavkar.

NOTEBOOK: From Kashmir to Kabul, Photography 1860-1900 by Omar Khan. Publishers: Mapin Publishing, Ahemdabad, www.mapinpub.com; Prestel Verlag, Germany, www.prestel.de. ISBN: 81-85822-92-1 (Mapin).