Ponsonby Collection

Setting up a camera shot, Kashgar, western China
Local men stand watching as a western man sets up his camera to take a shot, on a trip through Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

A Southern Chinese family photographed by Ralph Ponsonby Watts, a British diplomat, who undertook an amazing journey from Kashmir to Kashgar (in Xinjiang Province, southern China) in 1932 Date: 1932

Group of people in Kashgar, western China
A group of local men, together with a western colonial, pose outside a building in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1930s

A Uyghur family and tent
A Uyghur family stand before their traditional tent house - Xinjiang Province, southern China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts during his journey from Kashmir to Kashgar. Date: 1932

Local men mixing cement in Kashgar, western China. One of the men is standing on top of the mixture and pouring water into it from a jar. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Turkic Man
A man from far Northern India or Southern China, displaying the highly Turkic facial morphology of the peoples of this region. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Buddhist Monastery Interior
Southern Chinese Buddhist Monks in Zinjiang Province, China sit in lines before the Abbot. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

A Uyghur man smoking an elaborate pipe. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Old man in Kashgar, western China
An old man sitting at the side of a road in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Mountain scene with travellers, Kashgar, western China
A mountain scene, showing people travelling in horse-drawn wagons, in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Ram Raja Temple at Orchha
The Ram Raja Temple at Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India. Orchha was founded in the 16th century by the Bundela Rajput chieftain, Rudra Pratap

People preparing food, Kashgar, western China
People sitting in the open air, preparing food, in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Outdoor scene in Kashgar, western China
An outdoor scene in Kashgar, western China, showing buildings, the top of a wall and a pathway. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Group of local men, Kashgar, western China
A group of local men, probably travel guides, in the mountains of Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Kashgar Trip
Two siblings ride on a small pony, wrapped up against the cold. Both are from the Xinjiang province of China - close to Kashgar. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Colonel Ralph Ponsonby Watts (1892 - 1991)
Colonel Ralph Ponsonby Watts - a photograph taken during his journey from Kashmir through the Himalayan Mountain Pass to Kashgar in Chinese Turkestan. Date: 1932

Snowy mountain in Kashgar, western China
A man making his way up some steps cut into the snow on a mountain in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Temple building in Kashgar, western China
A large temple building in Kashgar, western China, with people standing and kneeling in front. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Men training a horse, Kashgar, western China
Three men training a horse in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Riverside scene in Kashgar, western China

Natives unloading cargo from boats
Native men unloading cargo from boats, in an unidentified location. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1932

Ox cart on a village street - Madhya Pradesh - India
An ox cart driven through a narrow village street in Madhya Pradesh Province, India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940s

Muscat, Oman
A view of the city of Muscat, the Capital of Oman. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1935

Scene in a timber yard, Kashgar, western China
Scene in a timber yard in Kashgar, western China, with many logs stacked up. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Father with children, Kashgar, western China
A father with two children outside their home in Kashgar, western China. He appears to be getting them washed from a small bowl of water. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Uniformed men in Kashgar, western China
A group of uniformed men in the mountains of Kashgar, western China. They are lined up in two rows, with one man at the centre, with a square archway behind him

Buddhist Head Monk - Xinjiang
Southern Chinese Buddhist Abbot in Zinjiang Province, China sitting in his Monastic Throne. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Men hauling a cart up a slope, Kashgar, western China
A group of men hauling a cart up a slope on a trip through Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Wooden building in Kashgar, western China
A wooden building in the mountains of Kashgar, western China, with a donkey or mule tethered up outside. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

A building by a river in Kashgar, western China
A small building at the side of a river in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Southern China - Local Man on horseback
A Turkic man sat on a mighty steed in a mountain pass in the far north of India or the very south of Xinjiang Province, China on the road through the mountains to Kashgar

Scene in a Kashgar market, western China
Scene in a crowded Kashgar market, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Horse and rider, Kashgar, western China
A horse and its rider in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Two children in Kashgar, western China. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

People travelling through Kashgar, China
People travelling through rocky terrain in Kashgar, western China. Date: 1932

Man at work in Kashgar, western China
A man at work in the open air in Kashgar, western China. He is hammering a wooden contraption with rope attached, perhaps a primitive agricultural implement. Date: 1932

Five people riding donkeys, Kashgar
Five people on a road in Kashgar, western China, riding donkeys. Date: 1932

Farming scene, Kashgar, China
A farming scene in Kashgar, western China, at harvest time. Date: 1932

Building in the mountains, Kashgar, China
An isolated building in the mountains of Kashgar, western China. Date: 1932

Woman in Kashgar, western China
A woman in Kashgar, western China. Date: 1932

Steps and archway, Kashgar, western China
A set of steep steps descending through an archway in Kashgar, western China. Date: 1932

Chidren in Kashgar, western China
Four children in Kashgar, western China. Two small boys sit in a cart on wheels, pulled by an older girl. Date: 1932

Poor Uyghur Musicians - Kashgar. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1932

Two camels and a horse, Kashgar, western China
Two camels and a horse transporting goods in Kashgar, western China. Date: 1932

Men painting the side of a large boat

Three men and a boy, Kashgar, western China
Three men and a boy wearing traditional dress pose for their photograph in Kashgar, western China. Date: 1932

Child and watering cans
A young child playing with two small watering cans. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: late 1920s

Uyghur Children - close to Kashgar
Two young Uyghur Children, close to Kashgar in Xinjiang, South West China. Photograph taken by Ralph Ponsonby Watts, who travelled up from Kashmir to Kahgar

Man with pan and mallet
A very unusual photograph of a man standing in the middle of his garden lawn with arms outstretched, holding a wooden mallet in one hand and a small metal pan in the other

Young child and pet dog

A young boy at the seaside
A young boy climbing the wooden steps up from the beach to the seafront. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1930

Vauxhall Cadet Cabriolet
A very smart and new family saloon car (a Vauxhall Cadet Cabriolet)on a country road. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1933

A road sweeper
A rather ragged dustman or road sweeper with his sweeping brushes and shovel, cart and empty bottle of ale! Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1915

Small boy in front of a wall
A small boy standing in front of a high stone wall. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1920s

An elderly couple holding hands outside their house

Pretend stabbing
A hilarious photograph of a pretend stabbing of a smartly dressed seated gentleman in trilby and white slacks, by an enraged gentleman holding a long knife

A Picnic Party
A large picnic for several colonial familes with food and drink spread on a large white cloth and a gramophone playing music behind. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1930s

Sharing a meal in the Middle East
Two men share a meal in a Middle Eastern country. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1930s

Two ladies sitting out on the terrace
Two rather stern-faced ladies sit outside on an English terrace in large wicker chairs. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1912

Village Elder
An Elder from the Kashmir region of India, or possibly even further north-west in a region which now form part of Pakistan. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1930s

The Port Campbell Steamship, presumably near Port Campbell, Victoria, on the southern coast of Australia. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1930s

Ram fighting - India
Two rams lock horns in a sporting arena, India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1920s

Father and child in a field, India
A man crouches and smokes an elaborate pipe in a cleared field, India. His young child stands beside him. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1920s

Colonial gent plays tennis, Iran
A colonial gentleman standing in a hard tennis court, Bushire (Bushehr), on the south west coast of Iran. At the time of this photograph the city had been under British occupation for five years

German officials in Packard cars
Visitors or dignitaries and German officials in two (possibly Embassy) vehicles. Both cars are American Packards. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1930s

Unidentified building, India
An unidentified building in India -- probably a temple or shrine. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1925

Washing clothes in the river, India

Two young children, India
A young Indian girl holds on tight to her younger sibling. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1920s

A young Indian toddler on a dusty road
A young Indian toddler standing in the middle of a dusty road. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1920s

Music and dancing in India
A group of people playing music and dancing in India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: 1920s

Sporting arena in India
Smoke is pumped into a sporting arena in India, possibly to further agitate fighting animals, here obscured beneath the white cloud. Date: 1920s

Broken-down car - Baroda, India
A British colonial lady stands beneath her parasol at the side of the road, as two Indian servants attend to a rear wheel puncture on a narrow Indian country lane. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts

Unidentified mountain area, India
An unidentified mountain area in India, with people and a lorry. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Women gathered below palms - Iran
A group of women sheltering below a group of palm trees in Iran. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Madhya Pradesh, Central India
Scene in Madhya Pradesh Province, Central India -- a rather barren looking landscape. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Ploughing in Madhya Pradesh, Central India
A man ploughing with two oxen in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Sadhu - India - Madhy Pradesh
Roadside scene in the Madhya Pradesh Province, India. A sadhu, or holy man, begging for alms. In Hinduism, sadhu is a common term for an ascetic or practitioner of yoga (yogi)

Lorries in the Thar Desert, India
People and lorries in the Thar Desert (the Great Indian Desert), India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Unidentified building in Madhya Pradesh, Central India
An unidentified building, possibly a fort, in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Farmer with oxen and cart, Madhya Pradesh, Central India
A farmer with his oxen and cart on a country lane in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Transporting goods in Madhya Pradesh, Central India
Goods being transported along a country road in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Ploughing with oxen, Madhya Pradesh, Central India
A man ploughing with oxen in a field in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Farming scene in Madhya Pradesh, Central India
A farming scene with oxen in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

Carvings in Madhya Pradesh, Central India
Elaborate carvings on a monument in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1940

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