Lot Essay
The photographs contained in this album document the famine at Gooty between August and October in 1877, and the treatment of victims at Cassor Hospital. The images include group portraits of famine-stricken families beyond recovery, images of women and children, men removing the dead on stretchers from Cassor Hospital, 'Cooks at Gooty relief camps taking rations for distribution', group portraits of women, men and children in the hospital at Cassor, and a view of R.E.D. Wilson's camp at Cassor.
Although a few photographs from this series by Hooper do occasionally appear in mixed albums of Indian subjects, this album, devoted entirely to the one subject is extremely rare. It is possible that this little album was the photographer's own reference for the subjects included, as it contains the most comprehensive selection of images known from this series.
Although a few photographs from this series by Hooper do occasionally appear in mixed albums of Indian subjects, this album, devoted entirely to the one subject is extremely rare. It is possible that this little album was the photographer's own reference for the subjects included, as it contains the most comprehensive selection of images known from this series.