Rare Hyderabad Pictures

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Stereographic photograph of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, taken by James Ricalton in c. 1903, from The Underwood Travel Library: Stereoscopic Views of India. Hyderabad was founded beside the River Musi in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r.1580-1612) as an alternative to his capital at Golconda. The town was laid out in a grid pattern with two main roads running east to west and north to south; the Char Minar sits at the intersection of these two roads. The Char Minar, or Four Towers, seen in the background of this view, was built in 1591 to mark the centre of the city. This ceremonial structure comprises four imposing arched portals with arcaded storeys and geometric screens above. The four corner minarets are crowned with domical finials. They contain spiral staircases opening onto triple tiers of balconies. This image is described by Ricalton in 'India Through the Stereoscope' (1907), "Two of the Nizam's state elephants have intruded athwart the street and obstructed our view...These two have just come out from the great archway on the left; they are being brought out in readiness to convey some traveler to Golconda." This is one of a series of 100 photographs, designed to be viewed through a special binocular viewer, producing a 3D effect, which were sold together with a book of descriptions and a map. Stereoscopic cameras, those with two lenses and the ability to take two photographs at the same time, were introduced in the mid 19th century.

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Secunderabad�

Photograph of a street in Secunderabad, Andrea Pradeah, taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. Secunderabad, twin city of Hyderabad, was founded after an alliance between Hyderabad's Nizam Sikander Jah and the British East India Company in 1798. Following the treaty, secured by Major James Achilles Kirkpatrick, an area north of Hussain Sagar lake was made into a cantonment. Soon after the treaty was signed 5,000 British troops arrived and camped in the new cantonment of Secunderabad, which was laid out in 1806 and named after the Nizam. Initially it encompassed an area of four square miles and had a population of 5,000 troops plus several thousand civilians. However, 60 years later it had increased to 17 square miles and had a population, including the armed forces, of 50,000.

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Photograph of mills at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892', taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s. Hyderabad was founded beside the River Musi in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r.1580-1612) as an alternative to his capital at Golconda. Later, Hyderabad became the capital of the Nizams of Hyderabad, who ruled over one of the largest states in India. The dynasty was founded by Nizam al-Mulk, entitled Asaf Jah (d. 1748) who arrived in the Deccan as the Mughal governor. In 1724 Asaf Jah declared independence and established the dynasty of Nizams who ruled until 1948. There were no modern industries in Hyderabad before 1874 but a few years later railway workshops were established nearby and four factories sprang up south and east of the Hussain Sagar lake. These industrial units became the centre of new settlements. This is a view of the mills and the nearby canal.

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View of the Husain Sagar lake to the north of Hyderabad, photographed by Deen Dayal in the 1880s. This is from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. Husain Sagar is an artificial lake which divides the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. The lake was created in the 16th century by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah (r.1550-80) and named after Husain Shah Wali, who had helped the sultan recover from illness. It was created by enlarging an existing small stone dam across the valley. The lake supplied the townspeople with water as well as irrigating the surrounding land