A GANDHI PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION

IMAGES OF THE MAHATMAA GANDHI PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION

Images of the mahatma A GAndhi PhotoGrAPhic collection

Contact: Dr Gabriel [email protected]

2 3Images of the mahatma a gandhI PhotograPhIc collectIon| |

introduction

Sotheby’s is privileged to offer what is probably the most extensive collection of photographs of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in private hands. this collection of about 4600 prints together with negatives, bundles of contact prints, commercially produced postcards and other reproductions, along with other material, is a unique documentary record of one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century.

there are many individual images that capture aspects of Gandhi’s extraordinary character, and the collection traces the journey of his life – a journey that had a profound effect on the history of his homeland and provided the world with a hugely influential example of a non-violent route to revolutionary change. the collection includes images of Gandhi as a child, as a young lawyer in smart western dress, and as the leader of Satyagraha in South Africa, but of course in the vast majority of the photographs he is in india, wearing round spectacles and a dhoti.

there are images of his spinning on the charkha that he saw as a route to swadeshi; among his friends, family and followers in the humble surroundings of his ashram; his eyes sharp as he negotiates with British dignitaries and fellow indian nationalists; and confronting huge crowds at rallies and other public events. Gandhi himself famously remarked “my life is my message”: this collection is a unique and powerful insight into that life.

‘‘“My life is my message”: this collection is a unique and powerful insight into that life.

overview

the current collection is formed of two distinct major sub-collections, each of which has a distinct history and focus. the first is the content of the studio of the photographer Kanu Gandhi, which comprises more than 3600 prints containing in excess of 1000 distinct photographic images of Mahatma Gandhi as well as many other associated images, together with postcards and other commercial reproductions. the second is the collection assembled by the writer and film-maker vithalbhai Jhaveri, comprising just under 1000 prints and nearly 500 different images.

BELOW Mahatma Gandhi taking his last meal before his fast unto death, Rashtriyashala Ashram, Rajkot, March 1939 (detail)LEFT Gandhi sitting in a chair, attended by Sushila Nayyar, Juhu Beach, Bombay, May 1944


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KAnu GAndhi

the heart of the collection comes from the estate of Kanu Gandhi (1917-1986), and constitutes the vast bulk of the content of his studio at the time of his death. Kanu was the second son of narandas Gandhi (b. 1885), Mahatma Gandhi’s second cousin (narandas’s grandfather was Jivanchand Gandhi, b. 1851, half-brother of Mahatma Gandhi’s father Karamchand). narandas and his brothers chhaganlal and Maganlal all worked closely with Gandhi from his time in South Africa onwards. Kanu Gandhi was therefore born into Gandhi’s inner circle – indeed for much of his childhood his father was manager of the Sabarmati Ashram, founded by Gandhi in 1917 – and his own personal devotion to the cause of swaraj was demonstrated at the age of 15, when he was jailed for participating in the non-cooperation Movement of 1932.

Kanu left his father to join Gandhi in 1935, and by early 1936 Gandhi’s letters include many references to the young man as one of his intimate personal aides. he was an important member of the Sevagram Ashram in wardha, Maharashtra, from its foundation. Gandhi and his wife Kasturba arranged Kanu’s marriage to Abha, the daughter of another follower, Amrita lal chatterjee. the marriage eventually took place in 1944. the couple attended to Gandhi’s personal care and working schedule. Kanu’s duties included leading the singing at prayer meetings and taking care of Gandhi’s luggage during trips, whilst Abha was one of the young women Gandhi dubbed his “walking sticks”, who physically supported him in his later years. in later years Abha remembered that “we were like three bodies but one soul”.

His unique intimacy with his subject makes him almost certainly the most significant photographer of the founder of modern India

LEFT Gandhi and Kanu Gandhi, date uncertainRIGHT Gandhi with Abha Gandhi, Pune, 1944


Kanu was taking photographs throughout these years of close personal service to Mahatma Gandhi, and his unique intimacy with his subject makes him almost certainly the most significant photographer of the founder of modern india. he was encouraged to take up photography by Shivaji Bhave (brother of vinoba Bhave), and Gandhi’s industrialist friend Ghanshyam das Birla gave him money to buy his first camera. For the rest of Gandhi’s life Kanu acted as his semi-official photographer, although Gandhi laid down three conditions: he would not pose, flash photography was forbidden, and Gandhi would not provide any financial assistance. this third condition was hardly necessary as the appetite for photographs of the Mahatma was such that Kanu was soon able to support his activities through the sale of his photographs. Kanu Gandhi produced a unique body of work: intimate and personal photographs of Gandhi at work and rest, in conversation and contemplation, at Sevagram and on his many journeys around india.

Abha was at Gandhi’s side when he was assassinated in January 1948, however Kanu was not present as he had remained in noakhali to continue Gandhi’s peace mission. in later years Kanu’s photographic subjects included indian politicians and Gandhian campaigners such as vinoba Bhave, as well as the effects of the famine in Bihar in 1966-67. his chief endeavour was always the maintenance of Gandhi’s legacy, through activities ranging from the promotion of khadi to the development of small-scale industries in rajkot. Kanu Gandhi died of a heart attack in 1986. this collection comprises the thousands of loose photographs found in his photographic studio and was acquired from Kanu’s heirs.

RIGHT Gandhi reading a newspaper, c. 1946BELOW Gandhi and Abul Kalam Maulana Azad discussing the proposals of the British Viceroy Lord Wavell, Birla House, June 1945


the Kanu Gandhi collection contains many images of everyday life in the Sevagram Ashram, showing Gandhi engaged in domestic affairs, on the telephone, reading newspapers, or simply walking about the ashram. there are photographs of him with animals and engaged in manual labour, especially spinning, both on the charka (wheel) and the dhanush takli. More unusual activities at the ashram included the study of leprosy, and Kanu Gandhi photographed Gandhi both observing leprosy bacteria through a microscope and administering massage to the Sanskrit scholar Parchure Shastri, who suffered from the disease.

he is often depicted with other members of the ashram, including of course Kasturba and other members of the extended family. Abha Gandhi is seen in many images, often alongside Gandhi’s grand-daughter, Manu. close associates such as Mirabehn and his secretaries Mahadev desai and Pyarelal nayyar, Pyarelal’s sister Sushila and other close family members also appear frequently. there are photographs of Gandhi meeting with other congress leaders – often entertaining them at his hut in the ashram – including Jawaharlal nehru, Sarvepalli radhakrishnan, Sarojini naidu, Abul Kalam Maulana Azad, vallabhbhai Patel, rajkumari Amrit Kaur, and c. rajagopalachari. there are also photographs of meetings with Muhammed Ali Jinnah.

Kanu followed Gandhi on his many trips throughout india. he records Gandhi’s visits to ashrams including Mahila Ashram (wardha), rashtriyashala Ashram (rajkot), and Khadi Pratisthan Ashram (Sodepur, near calcutta). there

is an excellent series of photographs taken on Juhu Beach, Bombay, and many more taken at Birla house, new delhi, where Gandhi spent much time in his final years, including some taken after his assassination there. there are photographs of his train travels, the huge crowds that met him at every station, and Gandhi collecting money for the harijan fund as he travelled.

the breadth of his travels in india are shown, from meetings with Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and members of Khudai Khidmatgar in the north west Frontier Province, to visits to riot-stricken areas in east Bengal. the one extended period which is little recorded by Kanu is that of Gandhi’s imprisonment at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune from August 1942 to

the KAnu GAndhi collection

Kanu followed Gandhi on his many trips throughout India

LEFT Gandhi observing leprosy bacteria, Sevagram Ashram, c.1940


Although all the prints in the collection were produced by the photographer (except for a small number of modern prints noted as such in the inventory), they were printed over an extended period. only a small percentage of the main series of Gandhi photographs (some 50 prints) are vintage prints that can be said with some confidence to have been printed shortly after the image was taken. other vintage prints include five larger prints, almost all of the vinoba Bhave photographs, a series of photographs once mounted in an album recording a visit to delhi in about 1950, and a small scattering of other photographs. the vast majority of the prints were made by Kanu Gandhi in the 1950s-70s.

Kanu Gandhi used a number of rubber stamps which are of great use in dating individual prints. the earliest is an oblong copyright stamp addressed from “Segaon Ashram”, a name only used before about 1936 (fig. 1). this was then replaced with an oval stamp with the more familiar “Sevagram Ashram” (fig. 2). the most common copyright stamp on the vintage prints is a small circular stamp with text in hindi (Copy Right Photo, Kanu Gandhi) but with no location stated (fig. 3). Most prints are stamped from rashtriyashala in rajkot, where Kanu moved in 1956, and give Kanu Gandhi’s name alongside that of his marketing label “Gandhi chitralaya”. there are a number of different post-1956 copyright stamps in both hindi and english but the most common is a circular stamp with english text (fig. 4). Kanu Gandhi often applied this last copyright stamp to earlier prints.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Gandhi speaking into a microphone, with Abha Gandhi, Pune, 1944 (detail)

May 1944, but there are images of Gandhi’s later visits to the graves of his wife and of Mahadev desai, both of whom died while imprisoned there.

Although the core of the collection features images of Gandhi’s daily life taken at close quarters, there are also many images illustrative of his public life: we see him speaking with a microphone during the congress meeting at ramgarh (Jharkhand) in 1940, at the opening ceremony of Kamla nehru Memorial hospital, Allahabad, in 1941, at mass meetings in Bengal and Madras, and with Madan Mohan Malaviya at Banaras hindu university, varanasi.

Additional photographs in the collection include an important series of photographic portraits of vinoba Bhave, and a number of signed photographs including one signed by nehru and his daughter indira. there are also a number of commercial products produced by Kanu Gandhi in later years, especially to commemorate the centenary of Gandhi’s birth in 1969: prints of a portrait of a smiling Gandhi, postcards, and packs of ten reproductions from the collection.


vithAlBhAi K. JhAveri

vithalbhai Jhaveri (1916-1985) was a film-maker and writer who was involved in the struggle for indian independence from the Salt March period and was one of the founders of congress radio in 1942. he co-edited a book in celebration of Gandhi’s 75th birthday, Gandhiji: his life and work (Bombay, 1944), was responsible for the many illustrations in d.G. tendulkar’s monumental eight volume Mahatma: Life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Bombay, 1951-54), directed the important documentary film Mahatma:

Gandhi giving his presidential speech at the open session of the Belgaum Congress, 23 December, 1924

Life of Gandhi, 1869–1948 (1968), and curated a number of Gandhi exhibitions in indian cities, including ‘My life is My Message’ in new delhi. Jhaveri was the first to present Gandhi’s life through the use of various visual media, and spent many years assembling a remarkable collection of photographs, films and footage of the Mahatma from sources around the world, some of which were used in his various publications. the current collection was acquired from Jhaveri’s heirs. It represents only a portion of Jhaveri’s collection, the rest of which remains the property of the Vithalbhai Jhaveri Collection Trust.

Gandhi towards the end of the South African Satyagraha campaign, January 1914


round table conference of 1931, including long series of images on board ship, in london for the conference itself, in lausanne where he went for a Pacifist conference in december 1931, and at mass meetings on his return to india.

the photographs following his return to india fall into two main groups: there are photographs of his daily life, often at the ashram (many of

these were acquired by Jhaveri from Kanu Gandhi so are duplicated in the Kanu Gandhi collection), and there are photographs of major public events at which press photographers were present, which often show him at ceremonial occasions, with large groups, alongside other leaders of the indian independence movement, or at negotiations (alongside the last British viceroy lord Mountbatten, for example). the lack of formal images reflects Gandhi’s increasing reluctance to pose for photographs. the collection ends with images of mourning and of Gandhi’s body at Birla house.

Many of the earliest photographs collected by Jhaveri are formal posed photographs, including images of him as a young barrister, and of him with Kasturba. there are a relatively small number of images from his time in South Africa, but they include photographs taken on tolstoy Farm and the earliest images of him as a public figure, especially during the 1913 Satyagraha campaign. there were relatively few photographs taken of Gandhi in his early years back in india, although the collection includes an interesting image of a reception held for him on his return to india and an extraordinary series of photographs of Gandhi on the operating table during his emergency appendectomy in 1924. one of the most fascinating aspects of these early photographs is the gradual change in Gandhi’s dress, from formal western suits to traditional indian costume of increasing simplicity. there are an number of striking photographic portraits from the mid 1920s, often at least semi-posed.

the collection includes images of pivotal historic moments such as Gandhi breaking the salt law by picking up a lump of natural salt at dandi on 6 April 1930. there are many photographs relating to Gandhi’s visit to Britain for the

the JhAveri collection

One of the most fascinating aspects of these early photographs is the gradual change in Gandhi’s dress

LEFT Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi shortly after their return to India, 1915

Gandhi addressing a meeting at Karadi, April 1930


the collection was mostly assembled from the late 1940s through to the early 1960s. in most cases Jhaveri obtained the images from the original photographers. the vast majority of the prints date from c.1950s, but some are earlier and vintage prints were occasionally supplied. Almost all have an identifying Jhaveri stamp (fig. 5), but many also have copyright stamps identifying the original source. these include indian photographers such as cousnic Brothers of Bombay and P.n. varma and co., western press agencies, and Government sources.

LEFT Gandhi breaking the salt law, Dandi Beach, 6 April 1930BELOW Gandhi in London, 1906

Figure 5: Jhaveri stamp


ProvenAnce

the collection was assembled by the current owner from the later 1980s onwards, when he began to travel widely in india in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi. he acquired the material in several stages from the Kanu Gandhi and Jhaveri heirs, following extensive work with them on the organisation, conservation, and copyrights of their collections. the property was exported from india to Germany as it was acquired, between 1988 and 1994, and has been used to promote Gandhi’s legacy in the years that have followed. Proceeds from the sale of the collection will facilitate further educational programmes on non-violence and Gandhi's thought.

LEFT Gandhi with Mahadev Desai, reading a letter from the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, Agatha Harrison visible behind, Birla House, 7 April 1939 BELOW Gandhi greeting people through the window of a train, 1940


inventorY

KAnu GAndhi collection

A series of 12 lever-arch files containing 2132 prints of 855 photographic images of Gandhi, 1936-1948, taken informally, depicting him alone and in groups, various locations, each image with a reference number (which can be cross-referenced to a caption), arranged by reference number as follows:

• 0001-0100: 68 images, 248 prints

• 0101-0200: 70 images, 201 prints

• 0201-0300: 45 images, 127 prints

• 0301-0400: 30 images, 61 prints

• 0401-0500: 82 images, 240 prints

• 0501-0600: 93 images, 250 prints

• 0601-0700: 89 images, 297 prints

• 0701-0800: 87 images, 167 prints

• 0801-0900: 86 images, 203 prints

• 0901-1000: 77 images, 171 prints

• 1001-1200: 65 images, 98 prints

• 1201-1339: 63 images, 89 prints

A series of 13 folders containing 467 large format prints of the same images, arranged as follows:

• 0001-0099: 133 prints

• 0100-0199: 23 prints

• 0200-0299: 21 prints

• 0300-0399: 2 prints

• 0400-0499: 34 prints, 2 negatives

• 0500-0599: 47 prints

• 0600-0699: 81 prints

• 0700-0799: 17 prints

• 0800-0899: 32 prints

• 0900-0999: 19 prints

• 1000-1099: 6 prints

• 1100-1199: 2 prints

• 1200-1338: 10 prints

• Miscellaneous: 40 prints

Additional prints of the main series of photographs:

• Bundles of contact prints of 16 images, each bundle containingmultiple prints (varying from 11 to 244 in number), in total c.1600 prints

• 103 numbered glass slides Produced for a slide show for the Gandhi centenary of 1969

LEFT Gandhi in front of his hut at Sevagram Ashram, 1942


10 lever-arch files and one folder of large format prints of additional Kanu Gandhi photographs of Gandhi and other subjects, outside the main numbered series, as follows:

• S001-S117: 106 images, 165 prints, 2 negativesAdditional photographs, chiefly of Gandhi

• MI 001-100: 96 images, 99 prints, 83 negatives

• MI 101-200: 100 images, 100 prints, 100 negatives

• MI 201-275: 75 images, 75 prints, 75 negatives Miscellaneous subjects, including Gandhi at public meetings, otherpublic figures including Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Vinoba Bhave,groups of people, buildings, documents, public events

• Miscellaneous Personalities: 170 images, 184 prints, 60 negatives Including images of Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Chek, Rajendra Prasad (twosigned), Kaka Kalelkar (two signed), Jawaharlal Nehru (one signed byhim and Indira Gandhi), Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Mirabehn, self-portraits of Kanu Gandhi, including some photographs not takenby Kanu Gandhi

• Spinning wheels: 115 images, 115 prints, 42 negativesPhotographs of charkas (traditional Indian spinning wheels)

• Blurs 01-41: 42 images, 44 prints, 42 negatives Photographs of Gandhi rejected by the photographer, comprisingoriginal negatives with modern prints

• Vinoba Bhave 001-423: 158 images,183 prints, and 2 album covers

• Portfolio of 35 large format prints of Vinoba BhavePhotographic portraits of Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1895-1982).

• Album 001-118: 103 images, 111 prints Photographs recording a visit by Kanu Gandhi and family to NewDelhi, c.1950, including meetings with Jawaharlal Nehru, IndiraGandhi, and Rajendra Prasad

• Village Life and Report Cards: 29 images, 43 prints, 28 negativesIncludes photographic prints of Gandhi’s school report cards

TOP Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Abha Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Acharya Kripalani, Sita Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru, Simla, July 1945 (detail)BOTTOM Gandhi spinning, October 1946


commercial reproductions produced by Kanu Gandhi, probably for the Gandhi centenary of 1969:

• 173 commercial prints of a close-up of Gandhi’s face, smiling

• c.2000 copies of a postcard produced for Gandhi’s centenary,depicting Mahatma and Kasturba Gandhi

• 79 sets of ten prints from the KG collection,each in a green envelope

Modern reproductions:

• 4 albums each containing a set of c.1450 numberednegatives of the Kanu Gandhi collection

• reproduction of Kanu Gandhi’s principal albumof his photographs, with captions

LEFT Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan & Mahatma Gandhi at a public meeting, North West Frontier Province, October 1938 (detail)BELOW Gandhi with other members of Sevagram Ashram planting a tulsi tree, 1946


vithAlBhAi JhAveri collection

A series of lever-arch files containing 780 prints of 486 images of Gandhi depicting every stage of his life, the content arranged chronologically, as follows:

• 1869-1927: 79 images, 141 prints

• 1928-1930: 36 images,61 prints, 3 negatives

• 1931: 94 images, 149 prints

• 1932-1941: 80 images, 104 prints

• 1942-1945: 89 images, 117 prints

• 1946-1948: 75 images, 140 prints

• Miscellaneous: 33 images, 68 prints

negatives

• c.258 large reproduction negatives of images from the Jhaveri collection

• c.570 small reproduction negatives of images from the Jhaveri collection

• 1869-1914: 9 prints

• 1915-1924: 23 prints

• 1925-1930: 14 prints

• 1931-1932: 16 prints

• 1933-1939: 42 Prints

• 1940-1944: 21 prints

• 1945-1946: 22 prints

• 1947-1948: 21 prints

• Nehru / Personalities: 7 prints

• Miscellaneous: 4 prints

• Extra-LargeMiscellaneous: 11 prints

11 folders containing 190 large-format prints from the collection, arranged chronologically, as follows:

inventorY

LEFT Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi shortly after their return to India, 1915


other

8 film reels, numbered and labelled as follows:

1. Gujarati dance, c. 1960, silent, 16 mm, b/w, 2:29 time

2. Gandhi at Sevagram Ashram and in delhi, c. 1939,silent, 8mm, b/w, 2:37 time

3. Gandhi at a public meeting and walking withgirls and women at an ashram, c. 1939,silent, 16mm, b/w, 2:29 time

4. congress leaders and Gandhi at Maganwadi(wardha), c. 1939, silent, 8mm, b/w, 2:32 time

5. vinoba Bhave’s visit to Bhavnagar (Gujarat), c.1957,silent, 16mm, colour, 3:10 time

6. vinoba Bhave’s visit to rajkot (Gujarat), c.1957, silent,16mm, colour, 2:48 time

7. last Journey of Mahatma Gandhi, edited sound film,c. 1948, 16mm, b/w, 13:05 time

8. Miscellaneous unidentified film stripson a single reel, 16mm

• 28 commercial prints of a stereophotograph by George lewis depicting Gandhi spinning while the sculptor Jo davidson works on a bust, with printed text on the reverse by c.F. Andrews (london, 1931)

inventorY

LEFT Gandhi writing in his hut at Sevagram Ashram, 1944OVERLEAF Gandhi during the Rowlatt Act strike, at the Masjid Chhota Kabirastan mosque, Grant Road, Bombay, 6 April, 1919 (detail)

30 Images of the mahatma|

Documents

A GANDHI PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION