

Here’s a bit of beauty to take you through the weekend. These are images from an antique book titled ‘The Beauties of Lucknow’—which pays overdue tribute to the dancing girls, singers and actresses of the city. Published in 1874, the book put together by photographer Darogha Abbas Ali has 24 sepia-tinted portraits. The ones above are of ‘Oomraojaan Dancing girl of Joogna’ and ‘Soondur dancing girl of the Oudh Court.’ You can see the others over at the digital collection of the New York Public Library.