Colonel Thomas Biggs British, 1822-1905
The long British occupation of India increased European interest in the history and culture of this unfamiliar subcontinent. A member of the Bombay Artillery, Thomas Biggs was among a number of military men who as amateur photographers played an important role in recording the archaeological and artistic heritage of India.
Accompanied by surgeon and fellow photographer Dr. W. H. Pigou, Biggs spent two years photographing monuments in Bijapur, Dharwar, and Mysore. Returning to military service during the Indian Mutiny (1857-59), he was asked again to make photographs in 1862-63 of Indian monuments in Ahmedabad. These views were published in Architecture at Ahmedabad, the Capital of Goozerat, Photographed by Colonel Biggs, R.A., the first volume of an ambitious series on architectural antiquities in India. The entire series was never completed, due in part to its expense, but the first three volumes appeared in 1866. T.W.F.
