Photo 311/1

Maroon half-leather album (binding weak and spine piece detached), with title as above and royal coat of arms stamped in gold on front cover and measuring 305x400mm. Letterpress label in gold script pasted on front fixed endpaper reads: 'Plague Visitation, Bombay. 1896-97. With the compliments of the Bombay Plague Committee. Chairman.' Album consists of prints mounted with letterpress captions beneath. As stated in the introduction (see below), most of the photographs were the work of Captain C. Moss of the Gloucester Regiment and the album compiler and copyright holder was 'F. B. Stewart, Photo-Artist, Poona'. In attributing the prints it has been assumed the small quantity of large format albumen prints of professional quality are the work of Stewart, while the majority, smaller prints of lower standard, are Moss's contribution.

The album records the work undertaken in Bombay and surrounding districts under the direction of the Plague Committee appointed by the Government of Bombay. This committee consisted of the following members: Brigadier-General W. F. Gatacre, P.C.H. Snow ICS, Surgeon-Major H. P. Dimmock IMS, C.C. James AMICE.

The photographs in the album are preceded by a page of letterpress introduction written by Brigadier-General W. F. Gatacre, which supplies the background to the Bombay Plague and the measures taken to suppress is, and which reads in part: 'There is little doubt that Plague existed in Bombay, unknown, in the early part of August, but how and whence it came is still an unravelled mystery. At that time, Bombay contained 850,000 inhabitants at least, and by the end of February the population had been reduced to one-half, by the people flying from the City through fear of the pestilence; the effect of this was to entirely paralyse trade, and the resultant loss to the City and the Country generally can never be estimated. On the 2nd of March 1897, when the Bombay Plague Committee was appointed, deaths from Plague in the City had reached the appalling number of 19,849, with a daily average mortality of 152, and there seemed little immediate hope of the death-rate being reduced, as the tide of returning population had set in; however, the beginning of April showed a satisfactory reduction in the total deaths for that month, being 3,578 as against 5,436 for March. The month of May showed a still further reduction, the mortality being 2,331, and by the 15th of June, Plague had practically disappeared, this being the more satisfactory as at this time the population of the City had increased to at least 750,000. The probable number of deaths from Plague in the City of Bombay alone, from August to the end of June, is 27,597.'