In October 1875, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert embarked on an extensive 8-month tour of the Indian subcontinent. In Mumbai, the royal party was entertained at the Elephanta Caves.
The Illustrated London News faithfully reported the entire trip to eager readers back home. They commissioned William Simpson, an artist and lithographer, to cover the entire visit. Simpson would send draft sketches, which would then be engraved in London and the pictures would appear with a four-week lag. For the sake of speed, Simpson would typically only draw in detail the main parts, and send notes and descriptions to help the engraver figure out the costumes etc.
Today these pictures are somewhat disturbing examples of what Edward Said defined as "Orientalism" - the imagining of the East by the West, in which the imperial regime controlled the way the subjugated culture was perceived. One of the features of this Orientalism is the figurative embedding of the Prince of Wales within that imagined Orient, asserting a superior 'civilised' culture. "We deserve to rule these chaps", seems to be the message.
