Frontispiece

F. M. Coleman’s publication titled Typical Pictures of Indian Natives, first published in 1897, is a collection of hand-coloured photographs depicting costumes worn by Indians of various castes and occupations.These studio portraits were intended as souvenirs for travellers and the subjects were showcased wearing typical Indian costumes. Such hand painted studio portraits helped define a genre of popular imagery that were globally disseminated in the form of postcards. This image shows a set of Indian men from various communities wearing different kinds of headwear.