Photo 1040

Half-leather and brown cloth bound album measuring 284 mm x 378 mm, with title as above stamped in gilt in front cover, containing 92 albumen prints, the majority captioned on the album page, some also captioned in the negative. There is also a list of captions at the front of the album. The photographs are recorded as having been sent from India to the Secretary of State in August 1886 (India Foreign Proceedings (Frontier), 'B' series, August 1886, nos. 128-228, IOR/P/2788).

The general instructions of the mission were to proceed to Chitral by way of Kashmir and Gilgit and enter into friendly relations with Mehtar Aman-ul-Mulk and to gain full information 'regarding Chitral and the other provinces subject to the Mehtar's control, in view to making the Government of India thoroughly acquainted with the material resources of the country, the number and condition of its inahbitants, the routes and passes leading through and from it, and with all other matters of interest.' Additionally, the party was to 'endeavour to penetrate into Kafiristan from Chitral, and to explore that almost unknown country thoroughly', although the Mission was urged to bear in mind that the 'primary object was to gain the goodwill of the inhabitants' and that 'admission to any part of the country was not to be pressed for, should the inhabitants dislike to grant it.' While enjoined to 'acquire a knowledge of Kafiristan and the Kafirs, and of the passes leading from their country across the Hindu-Kush', the area was politically sensitive and the Mission was warned to avoid the Afghan border and reminded that there should be 'no correspondence between any members of the party with either newspapers or scientific societies.'

A very detailed report of the mission, classified 'Strictly Confidential' was prepared by Lockhart and Woodthorpe and published as The Gilgit Mission, 1885-86 (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1889). This contains 104 reproductions of Giles's photographs. Many of these are also in the present album, although both volumes contain material not duplicated in the other. It has not been established how many photographs in total Giles took during the course of the mission, although a statement in the report that 'Giles has also taken many photographs of landscapes, buildings and people, but a large proportion of the plates were either broken or destroyed by water on their way to India', (p. 362) indicates that many were lost. A number of photographs in the album (for instance, print 62) show evidence of the damage sustained during the journey back to India.

Colonel Lockhart, to command Mission

Colonel Woodthorpe to survey the country

Captain Barrow, Staff Officer

Surgeon Giles, medical officer, naturalist and photographer.

Escort of 17 NCOs and men of the 24th Punjab Infantry, 3 NCOs of the Bengal Cavalry and 1 NCO of the Punjab Frontier Force Infantry.

The photographer, George Michael James Giles (1853-1916), served in the Indian Medical Service (Bengal) from 1880-1901 and was the author of a number of works on tropical medicine and sanitation.

Microfilm copy at IOR Neg 30590.