Mss Eur F222/16

Black post-bound album measuring 312 mm x 437 mm, with 35 sepia-toned prints mounted one to a page, the majority with typescript caption labels pasted beneath. Some of the prints have pencilled references to plate numbers and are marked Copyright reserved, indicating published use in John Henderson Hunt, Indian 'Fakirs', London: Adlard and Son, 1934 (see copy at Mss Eur F222/15. The photographs illustrate various self-mutilation practices of the Rafai Fakirs, an Islamic sect in Hyderabad State. This sequence of photographs was taken by Dr Hunt and his son in a courtyard of the City Palace, Hyderabad. The photographs are dated August 2nd and August 9th 1925 on the inside cover, but many appear to have been taken in 1927 (see note below). Much of this material is duplicated in Mss Eur F222/17 and 18. See also Mss Eur F222/14, which contains notes, typescripts and correspondence relating to Hunt's researches into the sect and his physical examinations of some of its devotees. The original glass negatives (mostly whole plate) of many of the prints survive in excellent condition and are stored at Mss Eur F222/47. Most of these negatives have typescript labels pasted onto one edge, giving location and date. These dates, which conflict with the inscriptions in the album , have been used in this catalogue. Whole-plate negatives have been traced for prints 1, 3-5, 7, 9-13 (plus variant of 12), 17-19, 21-24 (plus variants of 23-24), 27-30, 34; ¼-plate negatives have been found for prints 8, 14 and 16.

[Transferred to Prints, Drawings and Photographs]