This collection, dating from the 1890s to the late 1930s, reflects the photographic history of 2 family branches brought together by the marriage of Geoffrey Kellie to Margaret Jean Robertson (known as Jean) in 1938. There are 4 photograph albums compiled by the Kellie side of the family, and 8 albums put together by the Robertsons, including the last album of images collected by the young Jean before her marriage to Geoffrey.
The earlier albums, from the late 19th century, contain images from various countries in the former British Empire, mainly India, Mauritius and South Africa. Both sides of the family were in the military, and the main male figures, including Geoffrey Kellie, served with the British Army. For more information about the 2 families, see series level descriptions at 2002/055/1 (Kellie) and 2002/055/2 (Robertson).
Themes represented in the collection broadly cover military and domestic life, landscapes and the environment, travel and tourist sights. In particular, there are a number of images reflecting colonialists’ interest in amateur dramatics, especially in the photographs collected by Frederick William Robertson who produced several plays for the Simla Amateur Dramatic Club in the late 1920s.
This catalogue was produced with support from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
