Burmese girl, 1852 (c)

Photograph by John McCosh (1805-1885), 1852 (c).

Surgeon John McCosh of the Bengal Army was one of the first people to photograph Indian subjects during the late 1840s and early 1850s. He produced many fine photographs and the National Army Museum holds an album of these rare images. They include portraits of different peoples including Bengalis, Sikhs, Pathans and Burmese, including the young girl shown here. As well as people, McCosh also photographed palaces, temples, landscapes and military scenes.

During the nineteenth century, both the British Army and the East India Company's Army encouraged its soldiers to photograph India, to record its archaeological sites, places of scientific interest and ethnic diversity. Part of the imperial presence, the soldier photographers were among those who conquered, surveyed and ruled huge tracts of the sub-continent.

The rise of photography also coincided with the development of archaeology, anthropology and the spread of the museum, all of which were based on an impulse to collect, classify and control information about diverse cultures. At the same time, India's position as 'the jewel in the crown' ensured it would be an attractive topic for photographers, who were eager to show people at home the wonders of Britain's eastern empire. It is thanks to their efforts that we have such fine ethnographic collections in our museums.