Lot Essay
Philip Egerton undertook this expedition while Deputy Commissioner of Kangra with the purpose of opening up trade via northern India in this previously little-exploited and remote region, bordered by China and Yarkand. In his preface he stated "...having recently made an expedition to the frontier of Chinese Thibet, and taken some photographs of people and places probably never before delineated with accuracy, I hope that a brief journal illustrated with some of the photographs may not prove uninteresting, and may possibly assist to attract attention to this magnificent field for reciprocal traffic."
The photographs include views titled Kangra Fort, 'the temple of Bhawun', 'Tuhseeldar's Cutcherry', views at Dhurmsala, Ghoorka soldiers and their family in a native village, the temple at 'Nugger', a Kooloo man and wife, a Guddee family, the Hamta Pass, 'Chota Shigri' and the Shigri glacier, the upper Spiti valley, the bed of the Parangto torrent, 'Khiebar', the Kee monastery, several portraits of people of Spiti including the chief man or Nono, monks and the 'Abbot of Dhunkur'. The last photograph which appears in the appendix is a copy of a map of the region.
The photographs include views titled Kangra Fort, 'the temple of Bhawun', 'Tuhseeldar's Cutcherry', views at Dhurmsala, Ghoorka soldiers and their family in a native village, the temple at 'Nugger', a Kooloo man and wife, a Guddee family, the Hamta Pass, 'Chota Shigri' and the Shigri glacier, the upper Spiti valley, the bed of the Parangto torrent, 'Khiebar', the Kee monastery, several portraits of people of Spiti including the chief man or Nono, monks and the 'Abbot of Dhunkur'. The last photograph which appears in the appendix is a copy of a map of the region.