Photographs in albums acquired or compiled by Gladys Gilbert depicting Indian and Nepalese people, as well as prominent Europeans. Most of the photographs are portraits, including the Rana family, who ruled as prime ministers of Nepal, kings of Nepal, the Maharajah of Jaipur, and men in military uniform, as well as members of the British royalty and the 1911 royal tour of King George V and Queen Mary. In addition, there are images of hunting, military parades, architecture and temples, and religious and civic ceremonies. A set of photographs show Katmadu and Bhaktipur during the 1920s, and a few photographs depict Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, Louis Mountbattan, and the Indian cabinet shortly after independence. Another set shows Nehru visiting Ladakh.
One album bears the stamp of the library of "H. H. the Maharaja," 1933. Most of the portraits were made by Herzog & Higgins, Johnston & Hoffmann, and Bourne & Shepherd. There is also a large series of photographs published by W. Newman & Co.
Gladys Gilbert (ca. 1946-1989) was a public health specialist in the Peace Corps and the United States Agency for International Development (AID). She received a masters degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh. Shortly thereafter, she volunteered with the Peace Corps (1968-1970), where she worked as a health nutrition teacher trainer in Usilampatti, Tamil Nadu. After a short stint with the World Bank, Gilbert joined AID in the late 1970s, ultimately serving in India, Nepal, Somalia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Somalia and Sudan. Gilbert was killed in the 1989 plane crash which also killed Texas Congressman George "Mickey" Leland. At the time of her death, she was AID's special projects officer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Photo Lot 91-27, Gladys Gilbert photograph and postcard collection from India and Nepal, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Donated by Michael Cairney, Gladys Gilbert's husband, in accordance with her will, 1990.
Additional photograhs by Bourne & Shepherd held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 82-44, Photo Lot 97, and Photo Lot 161.
Additional photographs by Johnston & Hoffmann held in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library South Asian Architecture Photograph Collection (A1989.1).