Maharaja Ranjit Singh the lion of Punjab.
Ranjit Singh was born on 13th November 1780, in Gujranwala. He was the son of Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia misl. The misls were parts of a military confederacy formed to protect the Punjab. Ranjit Singh first rose to eminence when led the misls to repulse the attack of the Afghan leader Shah Zaman. In time, Lahore, Amritsar, Peshawar, Jammu and Kashmir came under his rule and he was crowned King of Punjab. To protect the fledgling state, Ranjit Singh concluded a defensive alliance with the British.
Ranjit Singh ruled a secular kingdom. As he child, he suffered from small pox and he lost an eye from it. In his later years, he was quoted as saying: “God has given me one eye that I may look upon all religions as one.” In his pursuit of a Punjab without the civil strife of the past, he banned the jizya tax and made no distinction between Muslim, Hindu and Sikh even attending the religious ceremonies of each religion.
Ranjit Singh died on 20th June of 1839. Some sources claim that, upon his death, gold was distributed to the poor. He left behind a relatively stable Punjab, and the Khalsa had become the most powerful force in India, barring the British army. There remained some flaws in the institutions he had formed. These flaws would be exploited and his legacy ruined in what followed. Punjab would be devastated, its government would collapse and the Khalsa would be annihilated.
The Grand portrait.
Very rare Original steel engraving of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on Horseback with attendants entering Kashmir.
Has a embossed stamp of French ministry of war, engraved from a painting.
c1839
Rare views of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Huzuri Bagh , marble pavilion at Lahore.
Real photo postcards
c1900s- c1905
Huzuri Bagh and Lahore fort.
Rare magic lantern glass negative slide of the earliest known view of Mahajara Ranjit Singhs marble pavilion.
c1870s
Tomb of Ranjit Singh at Lahore.
A rare original albumen photo.
A stunning image notice the original wall paintings of the Singh's guarding his tomb. These have now been painted over.
c1890s
Collection of Views - Tomb of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Lahore.
Original albumen photos & Real photo postcards.
c1870s - c1900s
Rare antique original albumen photo of the famous Lahore , Zam Zam canon of the bhangai misl. Captured by legendary ruler of Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh during the reign of The 12 Sikh confederations.
c1890s
Zam Zam canon
Original photo of the famous bhangai misl canon captured by Ranjit Singh.
c1890s
Zam Zam canon.
Printed postcard.
c1900s
Panoramic view of Lahore.
Printed postcard.
c1900s
View of the Lahore fort.
Real photo.
c1880s
Rare cigarette card of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Golden throne.
c1900s
Princely State of Kapurthala.
Maharaja Jagatjit Singh
(24 November 1872 – 19 June 1949)
The ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Kapurthala in the British Empire of India from 1877 until his death in 1949. He ascended the throne of Kapurthala state on 16 October 1877. He assumed full ruling powers in November 1890 and then commenced his unusual career as a world traveller and a Francophile. He received the title of Maharaja in 1911. Under his rule Kapurthala was turned into a city of beautiful palaces and gardens with main palace at Kapurthala modelled on the Versailles Palace.
He also built in the Kapurthala city's a mosque and a handsome gurudwara at Sultanpur Lodhi, sacred to Guru Nanak. Jagatjit Singh was one of the representatives of India at the League of Nations in 1926, 1927 and 1929.
The following is a rare series of postcards from the 1927 golden jubilee of the Maharaja of Kapurthala.
Interior of Kapurthala palace.
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