During a lecture recently, Christopher Penn spoke about his grandfather, one of the earliest photographers in South India.Hosted by INTACH, it threw light on how ATW Penn’s life in Ooty and the way he captured India through his lens
CHENNAI:An old letter that Christopher Penn found inadvertently in his father’s drawer in 2000, opened a new gateway for him to trace the story and life of Albert Thomas Watson Penn (ATW Penn) (1849-1924) — his great grandfather, who was a famous and one of the earliest photographers in South India in the 1800’s. In a recent lecture hosted by INTACH at Amethyst, Christopher took us through his journey, recalling anecdotes from his trail.
Presenting exquisite vintage pictures shots of the Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram, Old Madras Club and few iconic images of erstwhile Madras by Penn, Christopher narrated, “With the old letter I found 12 years after my father’s death, I traced his cousin Patricia, who wrote Penn’s obituary in the South of India Observer.” The obituary read — ‘too few men is it given to write their names so indelibly on the scroll of Time that its association with the work they have wrought shall remain a record for posterity…’
Intrigued by his family’s past, Christopher went on to locate booksellers in Piccadilly — Henry Southern Ltd and laid his hands on a book that carried several of his great grandfather’s photographs. “I wrecked the libraries of the Royal Geographical Society, Cambridge University, The British Museum, Oriental Studies Library, National Army Museum and everywhere in the world — from Paris to Vienna and Berlin,” he smiled.
His extensive research began in 2002 and since then, Christopher published three books on his research out of which The Nicholas Brothers & ATW Penn: Photographers of South India 1855-1885, is the most recent (2014). “Penn has produced several pictures that has captured and documented the culture and lives of people. But the most important for me remains the ethnographic pictures,” he said.
His research was based on letters, family albums, old documents and a lot of ‘guesses’, and he shows a picture of a young Penn and says, “He left home when he was around 12. In the National Survey of 1861, his name isn’t listed and what I could decipher was that he arrived in Madras by 1864. He was 16 then.” Penn was employed by the Nicholas Brothers’ — one of the most well-known commercial photographers in the Madras Presidency and Christopher suggested that by the time Penn reached Madras, he had already gained knowledge on the art. “Before coming here, he went to London and found work in a photo studio,” he claimed.
After a year of work in Madras, Penn left for Ootacamund (Ooty) and by 1875, he had acquired the business from Nicholas Brothers. “He owned a cottage — the Cranley Cottage. The records from St. Stephen’s Church shows that he married in 1870,” he said.
From capturing stunning images of the Nilgiri tribes Todas and Kurumbas to portraits of the Nizam of Hyderabad, Penn could document movements, spaces and images in equally appealing techniques. “In 1890’s after the entry of Kodak, his business suffered severely and he sold several of his assets — except his photographic equipment,” he shared.
In 1911, Penn retired to England but, returned to India soon. “His connect with India was strong. He spent his last years in Coonoor,” said Christopher pointing to a picture of him along with Penn’s gravestone in Tiger hill cemetery.
Penn died in 1924 but his legacy still remains. “He found his calling in photographs, India and in documenting the images of people and events. This journey of tracing an intimate history has opened many new doors to me,” added Christopher.