Umaid Singh II, Maharaja of Kotah, Jai Singh, Thakur of Bambuliya and other unidentified noblemen

This is a studio portrait of Umaid Singh II, Maharaja of Kotah (1873-1940), Jai Singh, Thakur of Bambuliya and other unidentified noblemen by PA Herzog & P Higgins.

While early photo studios were concentrated in the British administrative heartlands of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, by the 1880s, the trend spread to other cities and princely states, including Lucknow, Indore, Hyderabad and Jaipur. The technology was advancing rapidly and becoming more economical, increasing access to the rarefied spaces behind and in front of the camera. Herzog and Higgins were two Englishmen who rode this wave in Central India. They learnt the trade by working for the top experts and studios of the time, including John Blees, Jabalpur-based author of an instructional photography manual, Lala Deen Dayal and Johnston & Hoffmann. They established a studio in Mhow (present-day Madhya Pradesh) in 1894.