Samuel BOURNE (1834-1912) View of the Diwan-i-Khas at Agra Fort, with the Taj Mahal in the distance About 1865-1870, Vintage albumen print, signed and numbered in the negative "Bourne 1222". Approx. 22 × 28 cm (view). Mounted on cardboard. Some foxing. Note: A British photographer who lived in India from 1863 to 1870, Samuel Bourne and Charles Shepherd founded Bourne & Shepherd, one of the most important photographic studios in the British Raj. His views of Mughal monuments and Himalayan landscapes are today a major testimony to 19thᵉ century photography in India. The proposed image appears in his catalogue as no. 1222, entitled "The Diwan-i-Khas, Agra Fort, with the Taj in the Distance". It demonstrates his sense of composition and his attraction to iconic sites, in this case the Taj Mahal as seen from the Red Fort in Agra. References: Getty Research Institute, India & Asia photographic collections (ex. inv. Bourne 1222); Hindman Auctions, Photographs & Photobooks, 2019; various sales at Sotheby's and Christie's.