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This picture of the Red Fort in Delhi was collected along with several other tourist pictures by my grandmother, Margaret Fowle, in 1913 when she was touring the world, at the age of only 18. She was accompanying her father and acting as his secretary as he carried out an inspection of Methodist missions. We still have her diary of the journey, which was a huge adventure for a young woman in the early 20th century, and offered a sense of freedom unthinkable at home. They sailed to Mumbai, and gradually travelled through south east asia and China to Japan, eventually sailing from Yokohama to San Fransisco.
The pictures are lovely, although very roughly painted in gouache and watercolour, and celebrate the great monuments of Mughal architecture. Thousands of such works were produced for the growing numbers of Europeans travelling as tourists or servants of the Raj - a small industry serving a new international market. They are a reminder of the global impact of religion and colonial expansion and how they changed world, as well as the social attitudes of the participants.