(Source: csaflatfile)

The P. and O. Pocket Book, 2nd edition (London: Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., 1899)

The P. and O. was widely considered the premier shipping line for transportation to India (“a junior branch of the Royal Navy,” according to some).

The little guidebook provided for passengers (first published in 1888) included information on ports of call, essays on countries served, advice for travellers, maps, and meteorological tables.

The Passage to India

Gin and tonic time

lonsharim:

Map of an undivided India during British rule.

(via fuckyeahcartography)

The Charlotte of Chittagong and other vessels at anchor in the River Hoogli

Franz Balthazar; 1792

‘Charlotte, Chittagong’ at anchor in the Hoogli River off Calcutta. She is shown in stern view on the left, with the name visible on the transom and in port-broadside view in the centre, flying a jack, a commissioning pendant and plain red ensign at the stern.

The date of the painting means that by this time Calcutta was the capital of British India and so yacht and dispatch vessels hitherto managed by the East India Company were now answerable to the Crown and would appear as naval ships.

With their large passenger accommodation these ships were previously used by the East India Company as dispatch vessels and to carry Company servants around the coasts and up the great rivers of India.

thegildedcentury:

LIFE magazine, January 24, 1944

Lascar

thegildedcentury:

Punch, December 31, 1941

Strand Road Showing Group in Costume with Bullock Carts and Horse-Drawn Carriages, Sailing Ships and Other Boats On Hooghly River - Calcutta (Kolkata)

Calcutta (Kolkata) View - Sailing Ships and Other Boats Docked Along River Hooghly

Christmas Greetings from Mhow, Central India