Oblong Octavo album (ca. 19,6x24,1 cm). 12 cardstock leaves. With 96 mounted original gelatin silver photographs ca. 5,7x8 cm (2 ¼ x 3 ¼ in). One photo with an English caption on the mount. Full cloth album with the gilt-tooled generic title “Photographs” and the image of the sun embossed on the front cover. Binging slightly worn, several images with mild silvering, but otherwise a very good album with strong, interesting photos.

Historically interesting collection of lively vernacular photographs, illustrating an early trip to Sri Lanka during the British colonial rule in the 1910s.

According to the inscription on the verso of the front cover, the compiler was “Captain C. Renfrew,” who apparently traveled on a steamer from Colombo to Galle and then continued by train, visiting Anuradhapura, Kandy, Bandarawela, and Diyatalawa.

The collection features ninety-six vibrant views of Sri Lanka, with ca. thirty excellent photographs showing colonial Colombo. Over ten identified well-executed photos depict local landmarks, including St. Joseph’s College, Grand Oriental, Mount Lavinia, and Galle Face Hotels, Colombo National Museum, Old Colombo Lighthouse, Gordon Gardens, and the old jetty. About ten panoramic views of local streets portray thatched roof houses, shops with English signs (“central medical stores,” “bootmaking,” “watch & clock,” “hotel,” etc.), railway lines, horse carts, locals in white dresses and costumes, and soldiers maintaining order.

Several photographs from Galle show the Meera Mosque, the Dutch Church, and the Fort, along with a portrait of the presumed compiler in military uniform posing beside a horse-cart driver.

Especially interesting are about five photos from Diyatalawa, a former concentration camp for prisoners of war during the Second Boer War. The camp held more than 5,000 Boer prisoners and their families, many of whom had been transported from South Africa. Surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by British troops, it included hospitals, schools, and even small chapels, forming a self-contained settlement that lasted until the war’s end in 1902. The images depict the local train station and a lively gathering of local Indians overseen by British soldiers.

Over ten well-executed photographs of Anuradhapura show Buddhist monuments (The Ruwanweli Dagoba, Thuparamaya, Isurumuniya, Abhayagiri, Dalada Maligawa), the gateway to the sacred Bodhi Tree, and the Anuradhapura hotel. There are also several striking portraits of a local girl balancing a vessel on her head, Buddhists praying before a temple, and what appears to be a Buddhist funeral.

The rest of the photographs focus on Kandy, depicting lively street scenes with clearly visible English signs (“King Hotel,” “Sewing Machines,” “Singer’s,” “Millers & Co.”), views of Kandy Lake, a narrow-gauge railway locomotive, and the compiler posing with elephants.

Overall, historically interesting collection of lively vernacular photographs, illustrating an early trip to Sri Lanka during the British colonial rule.